The Golden Chimera
by The Flame Alchemist 13
Summary: Ed gets taken by a man and now he's a Chimera. Determined to lock that man up for good, Ed begins to research anything that will help his complete his goal. But what will happen when Ed discovers a shocking secret? Parental!Royed. NOT YAOI! Complete.
1. Chapter 1

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 1**_

"Why, hello there, Mr. Fullmetal Alchemist," The man said as he walked out of the shadows of the ally. "How nice of of you to come."

Ed glared at the man as he came closer. "What do you want?" He growled angrily.

"Now now," The man said calmly. "No need to get angry."

Anger flared up in Ed. "I'm here, so give Alphonse back," he snarled.

The man frowned. "Why are you in such a rush?"

"Shut up!" Ed shouted at the top of his lungs. "Give Al back, I don't want to fight you!"

The wicked smile on the mans face made a shiver run down Ed's spine. If this really was the man that the military was after then Ed had to be on his guard. "I don't want to fight you either."

Ed clenched his fists and for a brief moment wondered what they were doing to Al. Give me my brother," Ed said coldly. "If you want to leave here with your life."

The mans wicked smile turned into a toothy grin. "I know your threat means nothing."

Ed's heart began to race. The man was right, he would never be able to take a life, but how would he get Al back if his threats didn't worry the man? "Give me my little brother," Ed said, all of the demand had left his voice and all that was left was a tone of nervousness.

The man frowned. "But what fun will it be if we don't have someone to play with."

Fresh concern for his brother caused Ed's heart to race faster. _What are they doing to Al?_

The man casually shoved his hands deeply into his creamy white coat. "The truth is your brother is no use to us, we need a living person of flesh and blood. The best we can do is to take him apart and-"

"You bastard!" Ed shouted, all the nervousness in his voice has dissolved and was replaced by a fresh wave of anger. Those people took Al from him and now they were going to take him apart. Ed couldn't stand the thought of what would happen to his brother if they did that.

"Well, I guess you will do," The man said. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and placed a small silver whistle to his lips. When he blew through it, there was a high pitch screech. Heavy footsteps sounded behind Ed and the young Alchemist whipped around just in time to dodge a large steel blade.

"What the hell!" Ed yelled as the blade swung again, grazing his flesh arm. Ed clapped his hands and quickly transmuted his automail into a blade. When the opponents blade came around again Ed quickly thrust out his arm and the two steel weapons collided with a sickening screech. The force of the blow to his arm caused Ed to stumble back. Whoever was wielding that blade must be strong.

Ed heard the clanking of metal, he turned around and to his surprise he saw Al sitting with his back against the wall. His body was bound by chains and he didn't look like he could move.

"Al!" Ed yelled. Unfortunately in the short moment Ed let his guard down the enemy took that chance to strike. He swung his blade, Ed saw it coming down at him and he didn't have any time to doge the attack before the cold steel planted itself in the flesh of his shoulder. Ed let out a scream that was a cross between anger and pain. "Stop!" Ed yelled out.

"Quit struggling," The man with the cream coat walked forward and looked at Ed with satisfaction a clear emotion on his face.

"You bastard," Ed muttered. The blade was pulled roughly pulled from his shoulder and fresh, warm blood dripped down his arm, staining his red coat a darker shade of red. Ed glared at the man for a moment before a strong blow in his ribs knocked him off his feet and sent him falling back. All of the breath was forced from his lungs and the man loomed above him.

"I suggest you cooperate with us," he said. "Don't forget, we still have your brother hostage."

"You bastard," Ed growled. As he spoke pain flared in his chest and he winced in pain. _Damn it,_ Ed thought. _What the hell did they do?_

The man smiled down at Ed before roughly pulling him to his feet. Ed swayed and his vision darkened. The pain in his chest was now unbearable and the wound on his shoulder continued to bleed more. Darkness continued to creep into his vision and Ed took a uneven step forward before his flesh leg buckled beneath him and he fell face first to the ground. The impact sent more pain flaring through his chest until all he could focus on was breathing.

"Get the hell up," an unfamiliar voice snarled. Ed slowly rose to his feet, the man in the cream coat walked behind him and jabbed him in the back if he tried to run or slowed down. Eventually the pain in his chest became unbearable. Soon all he could hear were his own unsteady breaths as he went crashing to the ground, darkness surrounding him.

* * *

"Where the hell is he?" Roy demanded as he paced the length of his small office. With every passing second his irritation grew.

"Why don't you try to relax, sir," Hawkeye suggested.

Roy shook his head roughly and continued to pace. _What if something happened to him?_ Roy thought to himself. Although he didn't show it, he actually cared a lot for the young kid. _If something happened to him._ Roy took note that his ignition gloves were in his drawer.

"Colonel!" The door to Roy's office flew open and a frantic Al burst into to the room.

"What's wrong Alphonse?" Hawkeye asked, her hand drifting subconsciously to the gun strapped to her side.

"It's brother," Al said quickly. "Something happened and then."

"Slow down Alphonse," Roy said, his own concern beginning to rise up in him. "What about Ed?"

"He was taken," Al blurted out. "Several people attacked him and now he's gone."

"Where did this happen?" Roy ordered.

"Beside an ally about ten minutes from here," Alphonse informed, his voice about an octave higher than usual

Roy grabbed his ignition gloves out of his desk and headed for the door. "Lieutenant," Roy called.

Hawkeye began to follow Roy as he walked through the hallways of Central HQ at a fast pace. _Please be okay Ed._ Roy's heart beat faster as he thought about what might be happening to Ed. He forced himself to push the thought aside. Roy burst out of the front door's of central HQ and quickly got into his car.

Hawkeye got into the passengers seat and Alphonse went into the back. Roy started the car and drove off down the street as fast as he could, fear for the young alchemist caused him to drive faster. They got to where Alphonse had told them in a few short minutes, but those short minutes dragged on at a slow pace that felt like forever.

"Sir," Hawkeye called. Roy turned to her, his breath caught in his throat when he saw a tattered piece of red cloth and fresh blood splattered finely on the sidewalk.

"Alphonse." Roy turned to look at the suite of armor. "What did the people who took Ed look like?"

Alphonse thought the question over before replying. "One of them was tall with graying brown hair, he was wearing a creamy white coat. I didn't get a god look at anyone else though because of the darkness."

Roy's suspicion just became a fact. "Hawkeye, I think Ed was kidnapped by Daniel Tucker."

Hawkeye let out a startled gasp. "How, I thought he was in prision?"

"He _was_ in prision." Roy clenched his fists. "He broke out a few days ago."

"Who's Daniel Tucker?" Al asked.

"He's a former state alchemist," Roy explained. "He worked as a loyal soldier for several years, but then." Roy released a slow breath. "But then he killed several military officers and then fled the country. Three years ago he was caught and sent to jail. He was scheduled to be executed tomorrow, but just yesterday he escaped."

Al let out a nervous whimper. "If he's a criminal what is he going to do to brother?" Al's voice came out high pitched with worry.

Anger boiled up in Roy. "Hawkeye, get Havoc, Fuery, Fallman, and Breda. Tell them to search the city."

Hawkeye saluted. "Yes sir. But what about you?"

Roy pulled his ignition glove on. "I have an idea where he might be."

* * *

Ed head pounded and his chest throbbed dully, He opened his eyes and found himself in a darkly lit room. Ed sat up but when he when to put pressure down on his right hand he only met air and fell to his side. Ed realized that his automail was gone. _Damn it. Where he hell is it?_ Ed looked around and spotted it sitting on a small table in the corner of the room. Ed got up but found out too late that his automail leg was also gone. He lost his balance and fell to the floor.

Ed pushed himself up using his remaining hand and managed to get back in the bed after much difficulty.

The creaking of a door alerted Ed. Light spilled into the dark room as a man walked in. He looked at Ed and a small smile spread out on his face. "I see you're finally awake." He walked over to Ed and looked at him closely. After a few seconds he pulled out a notepad and jotted down a few notes.

"Get away," Ed snarled, anger taking control of his body.

The man frowned and wrote a few more things down before shoving the notepad back into his pocket. "Blond hair and golden eyes," he mumbled to himself.

"Shut up," Ed growled.

"And where would the fun be in that?" The man questioned innocently.

A deep grow formed in Ed's throat. The man looked at Ed for another minute before yanking Ed off the hard bed he was on and pulling him from the room.

Ed was forced to hop due to the fact that his leg was gone. Keeping his balance was another problem, the man was walking so fast that he barley managed to stay upright. The man continued to yank Ed down the hall until that came to another door.

The man knocked and the large door slowly swung open. Another man was standing there. The new man was unusually tall with ragged dark hair, his eyes were small and cold, and the outlines of muscles showed beneath his baggy clothing. "Is this the boy?" He asked in a deep, menacing voice.

The man let go of Ed's shirt and patted him on the head. "Yep."

Ed shot the man a glare but soon turned his gaze back to the newcomer, not wanting to let his guard down.

"This way." Ed was pushed into the middle of the room and he landed on the ground with a thump. There was a meow and a small golden cat padded out from the darkness. Ed's heard began to race when he noticed that beneath him there was a large transmutation circle.

"Good luck kid," The man wearing the cream coat said with a small chuckle.

"Wait!" Ed yelled. He tried to stand but wasn't able to get up on one leg. Suddenly the ground beneath him glowed and intense pain flared inside Ed. He let out a cry of pain and the glow gradually became brighter until the one transmutation circle lit up the entire room.

Ed looked around and spotted the small cat fading in front of him. Ed suddenly knew what was going on. Ed's breathing became heavy as he was merged with the small feline. _Is this was Nina felt like?_ Ed thought as the pain became the worst thing he had ever felt. Ever worse than his automail surgery, and that was painful.

Gradually the light died down and Ed sat there panting. The cat that had just recently been there was not gone, Ed hunched over and gasped for breath

Several people surged forward to look at what they did. "It worked!" one man announced in amazement.

"A successful chimera!" Another said proudly.

Ed glared up at the people surrounding him. "Get away." his voice came out weaker than he had thought it would.

"Now be a good boy," The man in the cream coat said as if he were speaking to a dog.

"Get away," Ed hissed. Without thinking he swiped out his left hand in an attempt to fend off the man.

"Bad boy." The man sprayed Ed in the face with water.

Ed shook his head trying to get the water off his face. His heart raced at a fast rate and his arm and leg shook from fear. Ed wished more than anything that this was just a dream and that it never happened, he new better than to think that though.

The man in the cream coat pulled something out of his pocket and wrapped it around Ed's neck. The material it was made out of rubbed uncomfortably against the skin, Ed tried to pulled it off but it wouldn't budge.

Ed sat helplessly on the floor. A few more men walked forward, one yanked Ed to his feet and the others pushed him into a small cage. The door was locked tightly and Ed looked around wildly, his fear taking over his thoughts. _What's going on? Why am I in here? Al, somebody, help me._ Ed thought pleadingly. The cage was wheeled away and left in another room.

In the room Ed heard the cries of many animals, their scents also sharper and Ed could easily pick them out. There were cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, pigs, too many to count.

Ed desperately wanted to transmute a way out but since he didn't have an arm that option was out of the picture. Instead he looked for another way out. _Come on, Think._ No ideas came to him. Ed was about to try to clap his hand and foot together to see if that would work when the door opened and bright light spilled into the room, illuminating the many cages that lined the wall.

The man with the cream coat walked in carrying a tray of food. He unlatched a hook at the bottom of the cage and a small section opened. He slid the tray in and locked it almost immediately afterward.

"Eat up," the man said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "We cant to step two if you're hungry."

Ed looked down at the wet slop in the bowl. His stomach churned at the thought of eating it. "What the hell is this?" Ed demanded angrily.

The man shrugged. "Just eat the food. It's good for you."

"I'm not eating the damn slop!" Ed shouted, he whacked the bowl aside and spilled the contents of in onto the floor of the room.

The man frowned, he reached behind him and grabbed some more of the slop. "Eat this or I'll force it down your throat."

Ed glared at the man as he pushed the new food into the cage. The look the man was giving Ed sent a shiver up the young boys spine. Ed looked at the slop wearily before taking a reluctant bite. He immediately regretted it. Ed forced himself to swallow, after swallowing the horrible stuff he pushed the rest aside.

"Bad boy," The man scolded. He sprayed Ed multiple times with freezing water. Ed closed his eyes and ignored the water dripping down onto his clothes. Soon the water stopped and the door closed with a loud bang.

Ed stared blankly at the far wall. _What the hell is going on?_ He thought nervously.


	2. Chapter 2

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 2**_

It's been a week since Ed had been kidnapped and Roy Mustang has been searching tirelessly for him the entire time. Every time he though he had found Ed's whereabouts the lead had proven to be false.

 _I promise I'll find you Ed,_ Roy promised, not only to Ed but to himself too. Roy gazed around the streets on Central city, the sun was setting and a warm glow settled on the quiet streets. Roy looked at his watch and decided that he still had another good three hours of searching.

Grabbing his list of leads, Roy quickly scanned it and one location caught his eye. _ **Laboratory 2.**_ Roy felt a spark of hope. _Please let him be there._ Taking off at a run, Roy Mustang quickly ran off in the direction of Laboratory 2.

Only a sliver of light was in the sky by the time Roy arrived at Laboratory 2. Two months ago the laboratory closed under unknown circumstances. The windows were boarded up and the building looked in bad shape, despite the fact that it had been the just recently repaired.

Roy pulled his ignition glove on and walked up to the door. He listened for a moment and heard the sound of people talking. Roy counted to three before throwing the door opened and he burst into a brightly lit hallway.

"Intruder!" A young man shouted. He grabbed his gun on his belt and pointed it at Roy, but Roy was faster.

Roy snapped his fingers and an explosion shook the air. Not wanting to kill anyone, Roy reduced the heat of his sparks so they only burnt them. "Where's Edward Elric?" Roy demanded angrily, holding a young man against the wall, his fingers ready to snap again.

"Room 9," The boy squeaked. Roy dropped the boy, who ran off down the hall.

Roy walked quickly through the halls, he had his fingers held up ready to snap if necessary. Soon Roy came to a door marked: _**Room 9.**_ He threw open the door and saw Edward sitting in a cage. On the top of the boys head were two golden cat ears.

* * *

Days, weeks, months, years? Ed couldn't remember how long he had been there. His memory was fuzzy and his head ached if he thought too hard. The people here had done so many experiments on Ed that his entire body felt numb and soar. So far, he had been given a pair of cat ears, a tail, whiskers, and even two cat-like teeth.

His head pounded and he hadn't eaten since he arrived, apart from that slop on the first day. Maybe he ate that slop today? It was hard to tell, for all he knew he could have eaten that slop that day or several years ago. Although Ed doubted that it had been longer than a couple weeks.

All that he had to drink was a small bowl of stale water that tasted like metal. _Please let this all be over._ Ed pleaded to himself.

Suddenly the door opened and light spilled into the room. Ed dug up all his strength for the next experiment but relaxed when he saw who was at the door. "Roy!" Ed called, his voice was scratchy and it hurt to talk.

Roy's eyes widened. "Fullmetal!" Roy ran over and began to fiddle with the lock.

"The keys." Ed pointed to a small table in the corner of the room. Roy ran over and then returned with the keys in his hand. The lock clicked open and Roy pulled the door open with a loud squeak.

Joy overwhelmed Ed and a smile spread out on his face. He was finally going to get out of here, he almost couldn't believe he was going to be free.

"Can you stand?" Roy asked as he carefully removed the red collar that pinched his neck.

Ed shook his head and pointed to where his automail use to be. Soon after Ed had arrived there he watched as a man disassembled his entire automail, both arm and leg. Roy helped Ed to his feet and helped him walk to the door.

Ed felt weak from hunger and his remaining leg shook slightly.

Roy sighed and started walking at a quicker pace Ed hardly able to keep up. "Colonel wait," Ed panted. "I need a break."

Ed hated to act weak but he doubted that he would be able to make it much further without his leg. "We can't waste time." Roy grabbed Ed in his arms and and ran for the door and bursting out into the dark streets of central city.

"Hey! Stop!" A man shouted. Ed recognized the voice belonged to the man with the cream coat. "He's my guinea pig!"

Roy ran a few more meters before placing Ed on the ground. "Stay here, I'll deal with him."

"It's not like I can _go_ anywhere," Ed stated, pointing once again to where his empty auromail port.

Roy smiled. Despite the pained look in the young boy's eyes, there was a steely tone in his voice.

Roy stood up and glanced back at Ed before turning to the man known as Daniel Tucker.

"Oh, so the Flame Alchemist decided to show up in the end," Daniel said in his usual sarcastic tone he used when speaking to higher ups.

"Shut the hell up," Roy growled in response. "Do you want a fight?"

Daniel grinned. "Oh course. Who wouldn't want the chance to kill the hero of the Ishval Civil War."

If Daniel was trying to get on Roy's nerves he was doing a hell of a good job of it. Roy narrowed his eyes. "So its a fight you want, then."

Daniel nodded his head slowly and raised his hands. There was a transmutation circle in the middle of each palm. "You remember my state alchemist name?"

Roy nodded curtly. "How can I forget the name that showed up in countless newspapers after murdering all those people."

"Glad you remember." Daniel's smile grew wider.

Roy's anger got the better of him. First that man killed an important subordinate of his and then he kidnapped Edward and turned him into a damn chimera. Roy snapped his fingers, a spark streaked through the air and exploded the second it hit Daniel.

This spark was different. When Roy snapped his fingers he remembered what it had felt like seeing all those innocent people dying in the Ishval Civil War, the death of his oldest subordinate, and every other thing that had happened to him during his years in the military. All of his anger was put into the spark that hit Daniel.

When the dust and smoke from the explosion cleared Roy stared in shock at Daniel standing there perfectly unharmed. "You think I would die so easily?" He questioned.

The sight caught Roy off guard. Daniel held out his hand and a jet of frost shot out of them. That was the power of the Glacier Alchemist, the former state alchemist who could adjust the water density in the air and freeze it as he wills.

Roy snapped his fingers just in time to melt the ice before it hit him. _I have to beat him fast,_ Roy thought with a surge of panic.

Roy snapped his fingers again and again each explosion larger than the last. Finally, as the last of Roy strength to keep fighting faded the smoke cleared and Daniel Tucker was gone. Roy stood there for a short moment, staring at the spot where the man had just been standing, before running over to Edward.

"Hey colonel," Ed said. "Took you long enough to beat him."

"Come on," Roy said helping Ed to. "Hawkeye's here."

Ed looked around and spotted a familiar military issued vehicle. Hawkeye walked out of the car and when she saw that Ed and Roy were okay a smile spread on her face. Roy and Edward got into the car and Hawkeye began to drive down the street.

"So, where are we going," Ed asked, breaking the silence.

"The hospitable," Hawkeye replied calmly as she drove.

"What!" Ed shouted. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I would, but that would be a lie," Roy said teasingly.

Ed slumped back deeper into his seat behind Roy. "I hate the hospitable," Ed muttered to himself.

Roy glanced behind him at Edward. The young boy's golden cat ears flicked with annoyance and the tip of his tale twitched. Ed crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

* * *

 _Two weeks later..._

"Please, can I go?" Ed begged the secretary at the front of the hospitable. Ever since he arrived at the hospitable he had begged them nonstop to let him out, and each time they gave him the same excuse.

"Sorry, we can't let you out," An older woman replied.

Ed's cat ears twitched impatiently. When he arrived the doctors were successfully able to remove his tail and everything other feline feature on him, yet were unable to remove the cat ears. Every time Ed got impatience or frustrated they would begin to twitch.

"Brother why don't you just wait patiently?" Al suggested.

Ed whipped his head around, his cat ears flat against his head. "I hate hospitals," Ed growled. "Why did you have to bring me here?"

"What else could we do?" Alphonse squeaked. "You had a tail, and whiskers, and fangs."

"That doesn't mean that you have to take me to the hospitable." Ed's ears pricked up when he heard foot steps behind him. He turned around and saw Roy behind him.

"Fullmetal, you can leave the hospitable," Roy said.

"Yeah, finally I can leave this damn place!" Ed announced excitedly, throwing his remaining arm up into the air. Bad idea because he lost his balance on the one leg and fell to the floor, his crutch landing on his head . A thought suddenly occurred to him. He stood up and turned to the secretary at the front counter. "Why can I leave now but not one minute ago?"

The lady shrugged. "He's a state alchemist."

Ed angrily reached into his pocket and pulled out his silver pocket watch. "I'm a state alchemist too."

"I know, I just couldn't believe a runt can be a state alchemist," The woman said with a shrug.

Anger flared up in Ed. "Who are you calling so short that you can't see unless under a microscope!"

The woman behind the counter took a step back as Ed began another one of his rants.

"Fullmetal, I thought you wanted to leave?" Roy called from where he and Alphonse stood at the front door. "You can stay longer of you want though."

Ed quickly limped to the door as fast as he could with one leg, he definitely didn't want to stay any longer.

Al pat him on his head and Ed swiped his hands away. "Will you quit doing that!"

"But I love cats," Al said disappointed. He continued to rub Ed's head, despite his older brother's many protests.


	3. Chapter 3

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 3**_

"Winry is so gonna kill me," Ed complained loudly. Three weeks have passed since Ed was turned into a Chimera and he was sitting on a train heading to Resembool to get his automail repaired.

"Stop complaining, Fullmetal," Roy said, frustration beginning to creep into the older alchemist.

Ed's cat ears twitched with impatience. "But I hate waiting and doing nothing," Ed complained even more loudly, just to bug Roy. "It's not my fault that the bastard destroyed my automail." Ed let out an irritated huff and continued to stare out the window.

After what felt like hours, the train began to slow down as it neared Resembool station. As the train stopped Ed eagerly got up from his seat, grabbed his crutch, and got off the train as fast as he could with one leg.

"Why are you in such a rush?" Roy said when he finally caught up to the blond alchemist.

"Why are you so slow?" Ed retorted without stopping his surprisingly quick pace.

Ed began to walk more slowly as they neared the Rockbell's house. "Winry's gonna kill me," Ed muttered, glancing at the port for his automail. "Yep. I'm gonna die"

Roy had to suppress a laugh at the thought of a young girl killing Ed, despite the many things the boy had gone through.

Ed continued on to the Rockbell's house. Soon he knocked on the door and let out a slow breath. _Once this door opens I'm gonna die._ Ed thought to himself.

The door opened and for a second Winry stood there staring at Ed, her gaze fixed on where his automail should have been. "What did you do?" Winry asked deadly calm, her voice just above a whisper. Winry's left eye twitched as she pulled out her trusty wrench and started pounding Ed with it.

"That automail was my masterpiece!" She shouted, the wrench's pounding becoming harder with every blow.

"Winry, I didn't mean to," Ed protested.

"That was your excuse the last time!" Winry yelled. "And the time before that! And the time before that! And the_"

"Winry, will you stop trying to kill Ed, he's our cash cow." Pinako appeared at the door and looked at Winry until she stopped beating Ed to a pulp.

"Yeah, you're right," Winry agreed. "Listen pipsqueak, the next time you break my automail you better have a great reason why."

Ed nodded. "Yeah, next time I break my automail I'll give you a good reason why."

Pinako walked into the house, followed by Winry. Ed followed more slowly. "See, told you she would try to kill me," Ed whispered to Roy.

Roy nodded. "If it weren't for Pinako you would have been dead," Roy whispered back.

Ed's cat ears twitched again and for a moment Roy wondered why the other two didn't seem to notice that he had a pair of golden cat ears on his head.

Soon they arrived in the main living space and Ed sat down heavily on the couch. Winry appeared and stood over him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Now tell me, why is your automail broken?"

"Uh, well, you see," Ed said nervously. He didn't want to tell Winry that he was kidnapped and that the people who kidnapped his destroyed his automail. "You see, it was night and-"

Den started barking madly, his ears flat against his head. A low growl came from the agitated dog.

"Take those cat ears off, they're bugging den," Winry ordered.

"I can't," Ed admitted, giving a slight tug to the ears.

"What do you mean 'I cant'?" Winry demanded.

Nervous sweat began to pour from Ed's face and he tried to think of a way to explain to Winry why he was part cat. "Okay, it was night, I was kidnapped, my automail got destroyed, and now I'm part cat," Ed said quickly with one breath.

"Wait, you were kidnapped," Winry said in shock. "By who?"

"I don't really know-"

"Daniel Tucker," Roy interrupted, his voice flat.

"Daniel Tucker," Winry repeated. "Who's he?"

Roy took an unsteady breath. "He is a former state alchemist that killed several military officers. Up until a few weeks ago he was in a high security prison in Central, and just recently escaped."

"Wait," Ed blurted out. "Did you say his last name was Tucker?"

Roy nodded.

"Is he by any chance related to Shou Tucker?" Ed asked, a small surge of panic creeping up on him.

"Yes, he's Shou Tucker's father," Roy informed.

"Oh great," Ed said sarcastically. "Let me guess, he's an expert in chimera's."

"You're half right," Roy said. "His specialty is freezing things like air and water. Although, he use to, or by the looks of it, still does, study Chimeras."

Pinako walked into the room, unaware about the conversation the three were having. "Do you have any parts of your automail?" Pinako asked Ed.

Ed shook his head, earning a glare from Winry. "Sorry, the arm was completely destroyed."

Pinako sighed. "Well, I guess it's going to take about a week to rebuild your automail from scratch."

"A week," Ed complained. "But last time it only took three days."

Winry gave Ed a hard look. "And last time you're leg was still in one piece."

Ed turned away from Winry, earning another wrench to the head. "What did you do that for!" Ed shouted, turning to glare at Winry.

Winry gripped her wrench tighter and Ed thought it was best not to argue with her anymore. "Ed," Pinako said. "We've got no spare legs at the moment, so I hope you're use to walking on one leg." Pinako gave Ed a wicked smile as if to tell him that they still had spared but weren't going to let him use one.

Ed's ears twitched again and Pinako looked at him suspiciously before walking away to her work table. Winry left the room and the sound of banging told Ed that the two engineers were busy at work on his automail.

* * *

"You've been here before, haven't you," Pinako said before taking a sip of her beer.

Roy nodded. "Yes ma'am. A few years ago I cam here and spoke with you, Edward, and Alphonse."

Pinako set down her drink on the kitchen table and looked Roy directly in his eye. "I had a feeling you were the one who made Edward join the military."

"I didn't make Edward join the military," Roy corrected. "All I did was tell him the privileges he would get by becoming a state alchemist." Roy found it quite uncomfortable talking to Pinako, even though he had talked to her many times since he arrived three days ago. _M_ u _st be because we're alone._ Roy thought.

"What ever the excuse is." Pinako paused as she drank. She placed the beer back down onto his usual spot of the table and continued. "Edward wouldn't have been turned into a chimera if it weren't for the military."

"You knew Edward was turned into a chimera?" Roy asked, he had sworn she'd been in the other room when he told Winry. _Maybe Winry told her._

"You think I wouldn't notice that Ed has cat ears," Pinako said casually.

 _So it's that noticeable._ Roy pushed the thought aside. He heard the floorboards creaking behind him, for a second he thought that it was Edward or Winry. Roy turned around and saw Den staring up art him, his large brown eyes full of curiosity.

"Hey Den," Roy said cheerfully, but the dog just walked away. Roy turned back to Pinako. "Is your dog against the military?"

Pinako shrugged. "He's usually very friendly. Got along well with that Armstrong fellow."

Roy nodded. "Maybe dogs are smarter than we think."

"You may be right," Pinako said, watching Den as he walked out of the room.

* * *

Ed paced impatiently in the yard outside, his at ears flicking in annoyance. As it turned out, Pinako _did_ have spare legs, and after much complaining Pinako had given in and lent him one to use. Ed still didn't have his arm but it had already been a week and his automail was scheduled to be finished that day.

"Hey Ed!" Winry ran out of the house holding his finished automail in her had. "It's done!"

Ed's excitement quickly faded when he remembered that he still had to get the automail connected. Releasing a sigh, Ed followed Winry into the house.

Once inside Pinako gave him one of her usual wicked grins. "You ready kid?"

Ed nodded slowly and took a seat on a chair. Pinako and Winry placed his arm and leg into the port and counted down from three. Pain flared up in his shoulder and leg as the automail was connected.

"Ow. Damn, that hurts," Ed muttered when the pain began to die down.

"Stop being such a cry baby," Winry said. "It's your fault that you're like this in the first place.

Ed shot Winry a look of pure hatred. "Shut up! Just shut the hell up!" Ed shouted standing up quickly, his fists clenched tightly.

"Why should I shut up?" Winry asked.

Roy watched as the two kids bickered back and forth. A faint smile spread out on his fact, although he didn't know why.

"Why are you so happy?" Ed demanded, turning his glare to Roy.

Roy quickly removed the smile on his face. "I don't know what you're talking about, Fullmetal."

"Anyway," Ed said, changing the subject. "I'm out of here." And with that Ed walked out of the front door.

"Thank you for letting us stay," Roy said politely, bowing his head.

"No need to be so polite," Pinako said. "That Armstrong guy was the same way."

"Thanks anyway," Roy said, before turning away and leaving the house and following the, now running, Ed to the train station.

"You remembered all the parts this time?" Pinako asked.

Winry quickly looked behind her at the clean work space. "Yep."

* * *

"Fullmetal, slow down," Roy panted as they neared the train station.

Ed didn't slow his pace until he was a few short feet from the tracks. "If we miss this train there isn't another one that comes for several days."

Roy looked at a nearby clock. "Fullmetal, it isn't even 12 yet."

"I know," Ed said. "The train comes in half an hour. If I miss this one, there isn't another for three days. I don't think I could spend any more time here."

Roy looked at Ed as he eagerly awaited for the train to come. "Shouldn't you be glad that you have a place to go to?" He asked.

Ed turned to him, his ears pricked up to catch even the slightest sound from a oncoming train. "Well, yeah. But it's boring here."

Roy didn't want to get into any further argument with the boy. For the rest of the time until the train came the two of them stood there in silence. It appeared Ed heard the train before Roy because he jumped up from his seat and grabbed his bag. "The train's here."

Roy listened carefully and heard the faint sound of a train speeding down the tracks. He was still unsure about how Ed had heard it so clearly, but he grabbed his own bag and pushed the thought to te back of his mind. A minute later the train pulled up and Roy slowly got on after Edward.

The young alchemist dived into a neat and sat down as the train started to slowly move away from Resembool. Roy sat down across from Ed and watched as the country scenery slowly and gradually turned into city.

The train ride was about an hour and by the time they got to Central HQ the sun was high in the sky and was beating down brightly on the two of them. Walking into the air conditioned halls, Roy felt overjoyed to be out of the boiling sun.

The two of them walked quickly through the hallways until they reached Roy's office. Opening the door, Roy walked in and was immediately greeted by his subordinates.

"How was your trip?" Hawkeye asked as she placed a stack of papers on Roy's desk.

"Fine," Roy said. His eyes fell upon the growing stack of papers on his desk. "Uh, is that my work."

Hawkeye nodded. "Yes sir, you have to get it filled out by Monday."

Roy already began to feel depressed at the thought of doing all that paperwork.

"Sir," Hawkeye said. "We have a new report about Daniel Tucker."

Roy looked up from his staring contest with the floor and turned his gaze to Hawkeye. "You do?"

Hawkeye nodded, she picked up a folder and handed it to Roy. "He was sighted the day after you and Ed went to Resembool.

Roy quickly scanned the pieces of parer, unaware of Ed looking over his shoulder. Roy shut the folder and handed it back to Hawkeye. _This is bad._ Roy walked over to his desk and sank into his chair. _How did he escape from prison in the first place?_ Roy's thoughts were quickly interrupted by Ed.

"I'm going to find this alchemist and teach him a lesson." Ed's voice held so much authority that Roy found it hard to believe that he was still only a child.

"Fullmetal, I can't allow you to go hunting down this murder just for revenge," Roy stated calmly.

Ed shot Roy a cold glare. "It's not for revenge, you saw what he did to me." Ed's voice grew louder each second, his ears folded back on his head. "I'll send him to where he belongs."


	4. Chapter 4

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 4**_

The rays from the rising sun began chasing away the last of the darkness that lingered from the night. Although the sun was bright and warm, there was a slight chill in the air. _There the hell is he?_ Ed thought.

The previous day, despite Ed's constant begging and pleading, the damn colonel still refused to let Ed go after the Glacier Alchemist, so Ed decided to go alone.

 _He should be around here._ Ed thought. He had spoken to many people during his hunt and several people say that they saw an older man with graying brown hair and a cream coat walking around the rundown part of Central.

As the sun rose higher and the risk of being seen increased, Ed thought it would be best to give up and head back to HQ.

Ed headed back but on his way he began to hear sirens and soon the entire rundown part of Central was flooded with Military Police. Quickening his pace Ed ducked into alleys until the old building gave way to newer ones, showing that he was in the modern part of Central.

Ed shoved his hands into his pocket's and began walking towards HQ, trying to think of an excuse to as why he was gone for so long.

"Fullmetal! Where have you been!" Ed turned and saw Roy angrily marching toward him, his strides long and his dark eyes narrowed.

"I was out for a walk," Ed said. It was a bad excuse but at least it was more believable than some of the other excuses he thought of.

"Don't pay dumb with me!" Roy shouted, grabbing Ed buy the collar of his coat.

"I don't know what-"

"Shut up!" Roy shouted, anger taking over his voice. "You were looking for _him_ , weren't you!"

"I told you, I was just taking a walk," Ed replied. _How did the colonel find out?_

"When people go for walks, they don't leave under the cover of night," Roy shouted, his voice shook with the great amount of anger that was contained in it.

Ed didn't know how to respond to that, The anger in Roy's eyes made Ed feel nervous. Ed had never seen Roy this mad before. Many times in the past Ed had seen Roy get mad, but not this much.

"Colonel, I promise you that I wasn't looking for that Alchemist," Ed lied.

Roy's grip of Ed's coat went slack and Ed took a few steps back, not wanting anger Roy anymore than he already was. "I still don't believe you," Roy said, turning away. "Come with me."

Ed released a nervous breath before following Roy down the hallway and eventually into his empty office. Ed stood there for a second before as Roy walked over and sat in his desk.

"What are you standing there for?" Roy said, slight irritation mixing with the anger that still remained his voice. "Sit."

Ed sat down on one of the familiar leather couches as he did every time he came to the office. Ed looked over at Roy and noticed that the fire in his eyes had calmed.

"I know you were lying," Roy said calmly.

Ed stared at the older man for a moment. _Should I tell him? No, he'll incinerate me._ "You're right, I was looking for Daniel Tucker last night."

 _Why did I just tell him?_ Ed thought to himself.

Ed notice Roy stiffen but then almost as soon as he did he relaxed and said in a calm voice, "Why did you disobey direct orders?"

"I couldn't let him get away, I need to pay him back for what he did," Ed said through gritted teeth. _What the hell. Why did I tell Mustang that again?_

Roy shook his head roughly. "I can't let you do that Fullmetal."

"Why not?" Ed demanded.

Roy began to give Ed his answer to the question. Ed yawned and his eyelids felt heavy. For several nights now, Ed roamed the streets of central for any sign or clue to where Daniel Tucker was, and because of that he had only slept for a few short hours in the morning after he had gotten back. Without meaning to, Ed's eyes closed and a minute later he was gently snoring on Roy's couch.

* * *

"And that's why you cant go after Daniel Tucker," Roy finished telling the story.

A gentle snoring sound could be heard echoing around the small room. Roy looked over at Ed and saw his eyes closed, and his head propped up against his hand. "Hey, Fullmetal," Roy asked.

No answer.

Roy stood up and walked over to where Ed was lying. He gently shook his shoulder. "Fullmetal, wake up."

"Stop it," Ed groaned tiredly.

Roy let out an irritated sigh. "Fullmetal, get up."

Ed opened his eyes and looked tiredly up at Roy. "What?"

"You're drooling on my couch," Roy informed, pointing to a spot of drool on the black leather.

Ed glanced down before wiping it away with his sleeve. He sat up straight and blinked away the harsh light of the room.

"Are you okay?" Roy asked, slight concern for the boy beginning to show in his voice as well as his eyes.

Ed stared up at him blankly before nodding curtly and standing up. Ed stretched and yawned loudly. "I'm gonna go now," Ed said walking towards the door.

"Fullmetal wait," Roy called. Edward stopped and turned around to look at him. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired," Ed insisted.

Roy didn't say anything more as Ed tiredly walked out of the office, probably to his dorm room _Something's wrong with Fullmetal,_ Roy thought; the slightest worry growing larger as he tried to think of a reason.

* * *

Ed gazed around his dorm room. His heart sank when he saw the mess. Books were piled high on a small table pushed against the far wall, the small kitchen at least looked half decent, a few dishes were on the counter but that would be easy to clean.

Deciding that he was too tired to do any clean, Ed flopped down in his bed. _What the hell did I do?_ Ed thought, his face red with embarrassment.

It wasn't like Ed _wanted_ to fall asleep of Roy's couch, he only meant to rest his eyes for a second but it ended with him drooling all over he colonels damn couch.

Ed closed his eyes again, exhaustion taking it's toll. Although harsh sunlight spilled through the window and onto his face, he still fell into a restless sleep.

 _The familiar dark room closed in on Ed as he, once again, sat helplessly in the middle of the transmutation circle. The cries of cat's could be heard echoing around the room. Just as before, the transmutation circle began to glow dimly until the entire room was bathed in it's dark purple glow._

 _Ed felt the dozens of cats merging into him. 'Is this part pf step 2?'_ _Ed thought as unbearable pain spread out through his body. The light gradually dimmed and then finally stopped altogether._

" _Well, looks like you survived this experiment as well," The now familiar voice of Daniel Tucker stated proudly._

 _Ed glared up at Tucker, the intense pain clouded his vision and made it hard for him to think straight. "Shut up," Ed growled, although his voice came in a pained tone._

" _Why do you have to be suck a bad boy?" Tucker said innocently, spraying Edward in the face with the cold water and motioning for his men to take Ed away._

Ed sat bolt upright in his bed. Cold sweat poured from his forehead and his breathing heavy. Ed tried to forget the painful experience that he was forced to relive repeatedly in his dreams.

Ed glanced over at the window. The sun was still up but it was slowly setting, casting long golden rays over Central City. _Why am I forced to keep seeing that same scene?_ Ed thought. Ever since he had escaped from that lab he had been having horrible dreams about what had happened when he had been there. That's also one reason why he had barley been getting any sleep, the nightmares kept him awake all night long.

Ed fell back down into his bed and pulled his blanket over his head to block out the light. Although he had been sleeping for several hours now, he still felt tired. His eye lids were heavy but he was forcing himself to stay awake so he didn't have another nightmare.

Eventually giving up on sleep, Ed stood up and walked over to a small table stacked high with books. Grabbing one off the top of the stack, Ed opened it and began to read. Soon an interesting page caught his eye. _How is this possible?_ Ed thought, his heart racing.

Ed mentally noted the page number, grabbed his coat and ran from the room. He headed to Roy's office, deciding that he should show the colonel what he found. Ed threw open the door and startled Fuery, causing him to drop everything he was holding.

"Fullmetal, this is a surprise," Roy said from where he sat at his desk. "Why are you here?"

"Shut up and look at this." Ed shoved his book in front of Roy. "Flip to page 53."

Roy gave Ed a questioning look before flipping to the page Ed had indicated. "Fullmetal, I don't see anything important here." Roy closed the book and handed it back to Ed.

Ed flipped through the pages and pointed at the last paragraph at the bottom of the page. "There."

Roy still looked confused at the book. "I still don't see anything important."

Ed looked at the book himself and began to read out loud. "Daniel Tucker, a highly skilled state alchemist who specialized in cold climates and chimeras. Date of birth: October 28th 1811," Ed read.

"But that's impossible," Roy said. "The all of the military records say the he's was 46."

Ed nodded, "That's what I didn't understand at first, but look at this picture." Ed pointed to an photo of Daniel that was taken right before he committed those crimes. "Look at his ring."

Roy looked closely and his eyes widened. "Wait, is that?"

Ed nodded stiffly. "Now it makes sense why he looks so young, despite being 103 years old. This man is in possession the Philosophers Stone."

Roy looked closer at the photo. "But how did he get one?" He asked aloud.

Ed shrugged. "Beats me, but if he possess a Philosopher's Stone than he's really dangerous."

Roy looked up from the photograph and stared at Ed, concern and worry showing in his dark eyes. "Fullmetal, you can't go after him," he said. "Now that we know how dangerous he is, we can't take any chances."

Ed didn't know how to answer, he was unusually tired and exhausted. "Why?"

Roy took in a shallow breath. "I can't let anything happen to you. Understand?"

Ed nodded, still not understanding why the colonel was concerned for his well being. "I understand, but colonel." Ed paused, not knowing what else to say. Instead Ed took his book from Roy's hands and walked out of the office.

Ed kept the book clutched tightly in his hands, as if something would happen to it. Originally Ed was planning to head to his dorm room to get some long needed sleep, but instead he made a detour to the library.

The same question kept replaying itself over again in Eds mind. _How did he get a Philosopher's Stone?_ Ed kept pushing the thought to the back of his mind as he continued walking. Soon after he left Central HQ behind a light rain began to pour. Ed shoved his book under his red coat to protect it from the worst of the rain. A few minutes later the library came into sight and also by that time the rain had gotten worse, Ed was now soaked with water, luckily his book made it.

Ed walked through the doors and the librarian, an old scrawny woman with graying hair pulled tightly into a bun, looked at him suspiciously as if wondering why a short kid with cat ears walked into a library in the middle of the night. "How may I help you?"

Ed took a moment to think. "I'm looking for the military records department."

"Sorry," The librarian apologized. "I cannot allow unauthorized individuals to go there."

Ed let out a mental sigh and them pulled out his silver pocket watch. "I'm a state alchemist."

The librarian continued to look at him suspiciously but let him go anyway. Soon Ed was sitting on the ground, a mountain of books surrounding him on all sides. _This is it,_ Ed thought, relief washing over him.

"Uh, excuse me sir," A young man said nervously. "The library's closing."

Ed looked up from his book and glanced at a nearby clock. "Damn it," Ed muttered as he quickly began throwing the books back onto the shelves and running out the door, and out onto the dark streets.

 _Mustang's gonna kill me if he finds out how long I've been out,_ Ed thought with a burst of panic. He didn't feel like being burnt to a crisp at the moment. Ed began to run as fast as he could back to HQ. Though he would never mention this to anyone, the reason that he was running wasn't because of Mustang, it was because he was actually scared of Daniel Tucker.

Ed finally reached Central HQ dripping wet from the relentless rain. He headed back to his dorm room, hopefully to catch up on some lost sleep. Ed silently walked through the halls, trying his best not to be seen or heard. At long last he reached the door to his room and he tiredly walked into the dark room, not even bothering to change his drenched clothes before falling onto his bed. Within minutes snores could be heard, signaling that he was asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 5**_

Roy Mustang pounded heavily on the door to Edward's dorm room. "Fullmetal," he called, pounding harder. _That dam brat,_ Roy thought, irritation seeping into him. Ed was an hour late for his meeting he had arranged with him and now that he was late. Roy was beginning to get concerned, his irritation slowly dissolving to be replaced be panic.

Roy was about to knock again, when the door creaked open to reveal a groggy Ed, whose hair was tied in a lose ponytail. "What's so important that you tried to knock down my door?"

"You're late," Roy said pointing to a clock hanging on a nearby wall.

Ed looked over and then back at Roy. "So what, I'm only a few minutes late."

"More like an hour," Roy said, his frustration returning.

Ed shrugged his shoulders, he made an attempt to close the door but Roy stopped it. "Fullmetal, where were you last night?"

Ed flashed a glare at Roy. "What's it matter to you?"

Roy continued to look down at Ed. "As your commanding officer I order you to tell me where you were last night."

"I was at the library," Ed spat after a brief hesitation. His cat ears folded back and he pulled the door with a hard yank, causing it to slam closed with a loud bang.

Roy tried to open it but the door wouldn't budge. _That brat, he used alchemy to seal the door,_ Roy thought when he noticed the alchemic reactions on the door frame. "Fullmetal, open this door at once!" Roy shouted, pulling on his ignition glove. "Or I'll burn it down."

No answer.

Roy was lying when he said that he would burn the door down but he snapped his fingers anyway, setting a small fire to the dry wooden door.

The sound of walking came from the Ed's dorm and a second later the door was thrown open. "You didn't have to do that!" Ed shouted angrily. "are you trying to burn down my dorm?"

Roy shook his head. "I was only trying to get you to open the door."

Ed's golden eyes stared at Roy for a short moment before clapped his hands and put out the slowly growing fire. "You bastard," Ed growled before walking into his dorm and slamming the door shut, only for it to fall off it's hinges and crash to the ground. "Now I don't have a door!" Ed turned to Roy and pointed down at the fallen door. "Fix it."

Roy have Ed a confused look. "But how do I-"

"I don't give a crap how you fix it," Ed interrupted, his anger growing greater the longer he stood there.

"I don't see why you cant just fix it with alchemy?" Roy said quickly before Fullmetal could interrupt.

Ed clapped his hands and placed them on the door. The door repaired itself and Ed slammed it shut and locked it to prevent Roy from getting in.

 _That's wrong with Fullmetal?_ Roy thought for a brief moment before shoving the thought to the back of his mind.

* * *

Ed walked across the room and sat down heavily on his bed. His thoughts whirled and he found it hard to focus on a single thing. Ed glanced at the book that he got from the library, a new wave of anger and defeat washed over him.

Ed stood up and reluctantly picked the book up and looked at the old worn out leather cover. _Why,_ Ed thought. He flipped through the book and stared at a single page in the book. _Why would someone do something like this?_ Ed placed the book back on the table and sat back on his bed trying to wrap his mind around the contents of the book.

Ed glanced at the clock and realized that it was already one thirty and he hadn't even eaten that day. His stomach growled but he stayed where he was, his mind still racing. Eventually Ed got up and walked into the small kitchen and opened one of the, pretty much empty cupboards, and quickly wolfed down a poorly made sandwich.

Ed sat down on a chair in his dining room and stared at the wall before he heard another knock at the door. Ed grumpily stood up and opened the door and saw Alphonse standing there. "Brother!" He announced, giving Ed a large hug.

When Al finally let go Ed looked up at his younger brother. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, I decided to go to Resembool since you were taking so long to get back, but by the time I arrived you already left," Al explained. "I decided to stay for the rest of the day and when I went to leave the trains stopped working so I had to wait for them to be fixed." Al told the entire story fast and Ed didn't remember half of what he said.

"Uh okay," Ed said. "I have to go." Ed tried to leave but Al grabbed his shoulder. "What?"

"The colonel was looking for you," Al said, not loosening his grip on his shoulder.

Ed let out an irritated sigh. "What does that bastard want now?"

Al looked around nervously. "He never said," he squeaked.

Ed glared down the hallway in the direction of Roy's office. "Why the hell should I go see that bastard?"

"Please go," Al begged, his voice higher pitched than before.

Ed swore silently under his breath. "Fine, but if he does anything stupid I won't hesitate to leave."

Al nodded and followed Ed as he waked unwillingly to Roy's office. Ed was about to knock on the door but stopped. He looked at Al pleadingly. "Do I have to?"

"Just knock on the door," Al said, all patience draining away.

Ed let out a sigh and knocked once on the door. After a brief moment there was no reply so Ed turned to leave but the familiar voice of Roy Mustang answered on the other side of the door.

Ed creaked open the door and saw Roy sitting at his desk. "Come in," he said.

Ed walked in and looked Roy directly in the eye. "Alphonse said that you needed to talk to me."

Roy nodded. "I've found a lead to the whereabouts of Daniel Tucker."

Ed's heart began to pound in his chest. "Why are you telling me this? I thought I wasn't allowed to go after him."

Roy looked sadly from Ed to Al. "He has Winry."

"You're joking," Ed said, hoping beyond all hope that he was lying.

"I'm sorry Fullmetal," Roy apologized. "Daniel Tucker kidnapped Winry yesterday, I'm hoping that you could assist us in our search."

Ed felt anxiety begging to build up in him. "How did he capture her?" His voice came out quieter than he expected.

Roy let out an uneasy breath. "Last night a man barged into the Rockbell's house and took Winry; Pinako put up a good fight but was useless when he started to use Alchemy." Roy paused as if gathering his thoughts. "The current whereabouts of Daniel are unknown, we don't want to put you or Al in any danger but we can't tell what Daniel might do to her."

Ed looked uneasily at Roy unable to process much of what he was saying. _Why did he take Winry?_ The thought kept coming back to Ed until that was all he could think about.

"Fullmetal, you okay?" Roy asked, jolting Ed back to reality with a hard crash.

"Y-yeah," Ed said nervously.

"Anyway," Roy continued. "I know Winry is a good friend of yours, but you can't go after this man alone."

"Why?" Ed demanded, his anger rising at a rapid pace even for him. "Do you know what he's going to do to her? I barley was able to make it out despite how much pain I've been through in my life!"

"I know Fullme-"

"Shut up!" Ed shouted. "I don't care if _you_ don't want me to go!"

"Fullmetal wait," Roy said calmly but Ed already left the room.

 _I have to find Winry,_ Ed decided silently. _I have to._ Ed continued down the hall, barley aware of footsteps behind him until someone grabbed his shoulders.

"Fullmetal," Roy said forcefully. "Calm down."

Ed spun around and pushed Roy's hands roughly from his shoulders. Ed glared at Roy and saw his own rage and hate reflect off of Roy's dark eyes. "You bastard," Ed growled. "You expect me to just sit and wait."

"Shut up," Roy snapped. "I've already told you that you can't go after him."

Ed let out a low growl and glared at Roy, his cat ears folded back on his head. "I don't care what you want!" Ed shouted. "I'm going after him."

"Fullmetal," Roy snapped again. "Listen to me now."

Ed glared angrily at Roy before turning his back and walking out of the office. _That bastard,_ Ed thought as his anger grew larger. _Why does he think he can tell me what to do?_

"Brother wait!" Alphonse ran up from behind him and grabbed the back of his shirt to stop him from walking.

In his anger, Ed spun around and punched Al in the chest. There was a loud metallic ringing in the air that made Ed realize what he had done. "Al, I-I'm sorry," Ed apologized, all anger in his voice gone.

Al touched the spot where Ed had punched him. "Brother," he said in a quiet voice.

"Al, I-I didn't mean to," Ed said.

Al looked down at Ed. "Why are you so mean?" He shouted before running down the hall and away from Ed.

Ed looked at Al as he ran down the hall, his heart felt like it was breaking in two. _Why did I do that?_ Ed thought. Al disappeared around the corner leaving Ed to stare blankly where he had disappeared.

"I'm sorry Al," Ed said quietly, knowing full well that Al wouldn't be able to hear him.


	6. Chapter 6

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 6**_

"Are you okay sir?" Hawkeye asked.

Roy nodded but kept his gaze fixed on the wall. "I'm fine."

"Yes sir," Hawkeye said, however, Roy doubted that she believed him.

There was a knock on the door and Alphonse walked in. "Colonel, have you seen Ed?"

"No. Why, where is he?" Roy responded, he was becoming slightly nervous.

"I don't know," Al said, his voice high pitched from nervousness. "Last night he punched me and I haven't seen him since."

Roy thought for a moment and a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Alphonse, did Fullmetal bring anything with him?"

Al shook his head almost immediately after Roy asked the question. "He didn't bring anything with him."

 _If he went after Daniel he's going to pay,_ Roy thought with a wicked smile. He turned to Hawkeye. "Lieutenant, come with me, we're going to look for Fullmetal."

Hawkeye nodded and began to follow Roy from the room before Al spoke up. "I'm coming too?"

Roy tried to think of an excuse for not having to drag him all around town. "Stay here in case Fullmetal comes back," Roy decided.

Al nodded and Roy and Hawkeye left the office. Once they were out of earshot of Alphonse, Hawkeye quietly said, "Why couldn't Alphonse come?"

Roy thought for a moment. _What do I tell her?_ "Well, the truth is." Roy paused for a brief moment before continuing. "I'm actually worried about the Elric brothers."

Hawkeye nodded, her deep brown gaze thoughtful. "I already know that, if you don't want anyone to know then start hiding it better."

Roy stood there for a moment trying too figure out what Haweye had meant, but soon realized that she was walking away. "Lieutenant, wait," Roy called, walking faster until he caught up with her.

"Hurry up sir," Hawkeye said with a straight face. "You want to find him, don't you."

Roy nodded and continued walking. _Please be okay._ Roy thought as several horrible scenes passed through his mind. He forcefully pushed them away and focused on what he was doing. _Please be okay Fullmetal._

* * *

Ed stood with his back leaning against the wall of a building, his thoughts swirling around through his mind. _What's going to happen to Winry?_ Ed had thought about that one question since Roy had told him that Winry was missing, each time it replayed itself Ed's fear for his childhood friend grew more.

 _If anything happened to her._ Ed clenched his fists. _That bastard, what right does he have to take her._ Ed's fear slowly drained away and was replaced by intense anger. _When I get my hands on him._

Hurried footsteps came from behind Ed, he turned around expecting to see Al but instead he saw Roy and Hawkeye running over to him. "Fullmetal!" Roy called. "Where have you been?"

Ed turned away from Roy when he stopped right beside him. "Go away."

"Fullmetal, listen to me," Roy said calmly. "I know you want to rescue Winry, but it's dangerous, I don't want you to get hurt."

Ed spun around, his anger taking over. "You bastard, you only care about you're reputation. If I get hurt then people won't put their trust in you. That's the reason, isn't it."

"Fullmetal," Roy snapped but Ed turned and walked away quickly.

 _That bastard._ Ed's ears folded flat against his head. _Why the hell should I listen to him?_ Ed continued to walked away, unaware that Roy was following him. Turning a corner and sank down against a wall, all of his recent anger fading. his mind began to race with the many thought of what might happen to Winry.

Ed sat there until the sky darkened when he decided to head back to Central HQ. Standing up Ed walked slowly out from here he was sitting and held back a yelp of surprise when he saw Roy standing there. "How long have you been there?"

"Since you got here," Roy replied casually, letting out a long yawn.

Ed glared at him. "Why are you here?"

Roy looked down at Ed, a kind look in his usually cold eyes. "Why are _you_ here?"

"None of you're damn business," Ed muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. He began to walk away and Roy followed silently. Every now and then Ed glanced behind him and every time he did the damn colonel was still there.

By the time the sun had begun to set, Ed reached headquarters. He walked through the deserted halls, the sound of Roy's footsteps echoed through the empty halls. Ed walked into his dorm and shut the door quickly, locking it in the process.

Ed glared angrily at the wall before clearing his books off his desk and sitting down heavily in a chair. _That damn bastard._ Ed stared at the wall, trying to gather his jumbled thoughts.

A soft knock came from the door. Ed stood up and opened the door. "Get away," Ed growled, expecting to see Roy, but instead Al stood there.

"You idiot!" Al yelled, swinging his fist and punching Ed in the stomach. Ed flew backwards and hit the floor with a loud bang.

"Damn it Al, what was that for?" Ed said angrily, standing up and glaring at his younger brother.

"That was for disappearing," Al growled. He raised his leg and kicked Ed hard in the gut. "And that was for hitting me last night."

"Geeze Al, you didn't have to kick me so hard," Ed muttered standing back up. "You trying to break my ribs?"

"No," Al admitted. "I was aiming for your leg, but I missed."

Ed lowered his gaze and looked at the floor. "Leave."

"No," Al said in a steely voice. "I'm not leaving."

"Fine." Ed walked past Al and into the hallway. "Then stay there."

"Brother wait" Al called, running after Ed.

A small grin appeared on Ed's face. Al grabbed his shoulder to stop him and Ed's plan went into action. He grabbed Al's outstretched hand and flipped the armor over his shoulder, slamming him against the ground with a loud, metallic bang. "Got you," Ed said with a smile, looking down at Al sprawled on the floor.

"That was a dirty trick," Al said, slight amusement in his voice.

"Yeah, I finally-" Ed's sentence was cut short when Al grabbed his leg and knocked him to the ground. "Why you," Ed growled. Al planed his foot on Ed's chest and pushed down slightly.

Ed got an idea. He clapped his hands and placed them on the ground. A ripple spread through the floor and it caused Al to lose his balance and fall to the floor beside Ed. Ed jumped to his feet and stood above Al, ready to transmute. "Looks like I win," Ed said cheerfully.

"Not so fast," Al said wickedly. Ed, having thought that Al had given up, dropped his guard just enough for Al to jump to his feet with a clang and push Ed hard in the chest.

Ed fell to the ground from the force of the blow and Al looked down at him. "I win."

"Stop fighting in the halls!"

Ed turned around and saw Ry standing a couple feet away from them, his arms crossed and a cold look on his eyes. Al turned quickly and Ed scrambled up from the floor.

"Sorry sir," Al squeaked nervously.

Ed gave Roy a hard look. "Why should we?"

Roy let out a sigh. "Because you can't go and destroy the halls." Roy pointed at the now uneven floor.

"Sorry sir," Alphonse said quickly. "It wont happen again."

Roy turned his gaze to Edward, his dark eyes piercing.

Ed stood straight and stared the colonel in his eyes and said, "Don't think this won't happen again."

"Brother, why do you have to be so rude?" Al asked.

"Why do you have to be so polite?" Ed retorted.

Roy walked down the hallway and left the two arguing brothers alone.

* * *

Ed flopped down in his bed and looked up at the ceiling. "Hey Al, do you think Winry's okay?"

"Of course," Al announced. "You don't realize how tough Winry is."

"I know," Ed said quietly. "But if they do to her what they did to me." Ed didn't finish the sentence.

"She'll be okay," Al reassured, walking over to where Ed lay on his bed.

"Maybe you're right," Ed sighed. "She'll be okay." Ed couldn't help but remember everything that they had done to him. The countless of painful experiments, they weren't even done when Roy rescued him. Ed felt himself begin to panic. _What is she didn't make it?_ Ed closed his eyes and tried to think about something else. _35 liters of Water, 25 kilograms of carbon, 4 liters of ammonia, 1.5 kilograms of lime, 800 grams of phosphorus, 250 grams of salt, 100 grams of saltpeter, 80 grams of sulfur, 7.5 grams of fluorine, 5 grams of iron, 3 grams of silicone, and small amounts of 15 other elements._ Ed recited the ingredients of a human body dozens of times over in his head, but his stress continued to steadily grow.

"You okay," Al asked, a slight hint of concern in his voice.

"I'm fine," Ed snapped, turning to glare at his younger brother. It's not like he wanted to be rude to Al; he didn't want to worry Al anymore than he needed to.

"Okay brother," Al said, taking a few steps back and glancing at the door. "I have to go do something; I'll be right back." Al left the room and closed the door with a soft click.

Ed sighed and closed his eyes to block out the light of the room. "I'm such an idiot," He muttered to himself.

Time passed and Ed continued to lay where he was, his gaze fixed blankly on the stained white ceiling. After awhile the door creaked open and Al's familiar metallic footsteps echoed though the small room. "Brother, guess what?" Al announced.

"What?" Ed asked, sitting up in his bed and looking at Al.

His younger brother walked over and handed a letter which he had been holding tightly in his hand. "The colonel gave this to me."

Ed eyed the letter angrily before taking it from Al's hands and opening it roughly. A small piece of white paper fell out and onto Ed's lap. He picked it up and began to read.

 _Fullmetal,_

 _I have found the whereabouts of Miss Winry Rockbell. I have gathered a team and will leave tomorrow morning at 5:30am. Meet me in my office at 5:20am._

 _Colonel Roy Mustang_

 _The Flame Alchemist._

Ed folded up the letter and looked at Al. "Did he really find Winry?"

Al nodded. "I passed him earlier and he told me to give you this."

Ed nodded felling a spark of hope igniting once again. He glanced at the clock and noticed that it was already very late. Deciding to try to get some sleep, Ed flopped back down onto his bed.

"Al, I'm gonna get some sleep," Ed said yawning. "Night."

After a few minuted Ed had fallen asleep and Al continued to sit on the chair, looking down at Ed as jealously crept into his metal body. _I wish I could sleep._ He thought, longing for the day when he had a human body.

* * *

Ed woke up early the next morning. Lucky for him he didn't have any nightmares keeping him awake, so he got a full night's sleep.

"Ed, are you awake?" Al asked from the shadows of the room.

"Yeah." Ed yawned loudly as he stretched his arms.

Ed heard the familiar metallic clang when Al walked and a moment later the lights in the room clicked on, blinding Ed.

"Damn it Al," Ed muttered, shielding his eyes from the harsh light. "You could have warned me."

"Sorry," Al said quickly. Ed could have sworn that he heard a small snicker at the end of the sentence.

Ed shot Al a glare and lazily stood up, stretched his stiff muscles. "Well, I guess we should go." Ed glanced at the clock and noticed that they had to be there in a few minutes. "Al, why didn't you wake me up?" Ed asked.

"You never asked me to," Al said truthfully.

Ed didn't argue with that. He got dressed quickly and left the dorm room. Al followed and within a few short minutes they were at the door to Roy's office. Ed grabbed the handle but paused before turning it.

"Ed, aren't you going to open the door?" Al asked.

Ed shook his head to clear his thought before twisting the handle and walking into the office.

"Good morning Fullmetal, glad you could make it," Roy greeted from where he sat behind his desk.

Ed looked around, taking into account of all the people in the room. Hawkeye stood beside Roy, Hughes lounged on the leather couch showing pictures of his wife and daughter to Fuery, who kept nodding his head. Breda and Falman stood on either side of the door, and Havoc stood towards the edge of the room with a cigarette in his mouth.

Good morning Edward and Alphonse," Hawkeye said polity.

Ed nodded and turned to Roy. "Is it true?"

Roy nodded. "Are you ready Fullmetal?"

Ed nodded stiffly.

"Okay then." Roy stood up. "Lieutenant, we're leaving."

"Yes sir," Hawkeye said, following Roy.

"Are we going?" Hughes asked. When Roy nodded he stuffed his many photos into the pocket on his shirt and stood up. "I'll show you more pictures later."

"I can't wait," Fury said sarcastically, he sighed and stood up as well.

Ed and Al followed Roy down the hallway. A few minutes later all of then were in a car. The group of them had to be split up or most of them would have been suffocated. Ed was unlucky because he was sitting right beside Hughes.

"And this is Elicia eating ice cream," Hughes said. He shoved the picture up close in Ed's face. "Just look how cute she is."

Ed pushed the picture out of his face and glared at Hughes. "How would you like you're picture become a paper mache ball?" Ed asked.

Hughes thought about it for a moment. "Nah, I'd rather see the face of this little cutie." Hughes kissed the picture of his daughter and then pushed it into his shirt pocket. He immediately pulled out another picture and turned to Fuery, who was sitting on the other side of Hughes. "Look at this, Elicia is playing dress up with Gracia's clothes."

Fuery sighed and looked pleadingly at Roy, who sat in the drivers seat. "Are you sure I can't go in the other car?"

Roy ignored his subordinates pleas and started the engines and began to drive away. Fuery sank back down in the seat while Hughes shoved more pictures of his family into his face. "This is from when Elicia was at the beach. This is Gracia and Elicia baking a cake. Oh, this is Elicia on her birthday."

"Make it stop," Fuery complained, holding his hands up to his ears to block out the noise.

Ed stared out the window, taking in the rapidly changing landscape as he ignored Hughes as he showed Fuery countless photographs of Elicia. After about ten more minutes of sitting in the car Ed grew restless. He didn't want to just sit there anymore, he had to find Winry now.

"Hey Ed, did I ever show you this picture?" Hughes shoved a picture of Elicia playing with a beach ball in Ed's line of vision.

Ed gave Hughes a cold look. Even though he said nothing Hughes must have gotten the clue that Ed was probably going to do something so he put the picture away.

"Hey Breda," Hughes said quietly, pulling out a picture of Elicia. "Isn't Elicia cute?"

"Yes Hughes," Breda said angrily. "Elicia is adorable."

"I know," Hughes said loudly. "She's the cutest thing I've ever seen."

The car stopped and Roy announced they they were there. Everyone poured out of the car, Ed noticed that Fuery was trying to distance himself from Hughes as much as possible.

Ed looked around, taking in his surroundings. They were parked on the edge of an old, rocky road. In front of Ed was a overgrown train leading into the bushes. On either side of the road, tall trees towered up into the sky, blocking out a small amount of the light.

The other car parked a few feet in front of Roy's car and Hawkeye, Havoc, Falman, and Alphonse got out.

Roy signaled for everyone to come over. Everyone walked over and surrounded Roy. The colonel lowered his voice to a quiet whisper and said, "So here's the plan."


	7. Chapter 7

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 7**_

Ed listened as Roy explained his carefully engineered plan, taking in every detail. "Everyone understand?" Roy finished.

Everyone nodded, except for Hughes, who pulled out a picture of his daughter and began staring at it with as large smile on his face.

Roy pulled on his ignition glove, snapped his fingers, and burnt the piece of paper to ash.

"What was that for?" Hughes demanded, gathering every ash and stuffing it into his pocket.

Silence spread, once again, over the many people gathered at the edge of the road. As everyone stood up to leave Al broke the silence. "What about me?"

Roy looked at Al for a brief moment before replying. "I want you to stay with Fuery incase anything happens."

Al nodded glumly and followed Fuery as he went to set up his equipment. Hawkeye saluted to Roy before walking off and disappearing into the think tangle of undergrowth. Everyone went their separate ways until Ed and Roy were standing alone at the edge of the road.

"Let's go," Roy said as he began to walk towards the bushes. Ed followed, the thorns scraping at his skin and tugging at his clothes. Mud stained his pants and low hanging tree branched lashed out at him. Ed wished he was with Al at the moment instead of with this bastard.

The two of them kept walking until Roy held out his hand, signaling for Ed to stop. Ed waited for several minutes before he saw Hughes walk up to the guards standing outside of a surprisingly large building, each carrying a riffle. Hughes walked up to them and pulled out a picture of his daughter, shoving it into the faces of one of the two guards.

The guards raised their riffles and pointed then at Hughes, who put his hands in the air. There were two bangs and the men collapsed to the ground. Hughes turned to where Ed and Roy were hiding and gave the a thumbs up. The two alchemists crept forward and into the building. Roy pulled his ignition glove tighter and Ed made sure he was ready to transmute.

Slowly, Ed and Roy walked through the hallways, aware of every noise or sound. Roy had ignition gloves on both hands, usually he only wore one. Ed was prepared to transmute even though his arms were hanging by his sides. Every small noise made him jump and spin around, looking for danger.

"Hey! Who are you?"

Ed turned around and saw a young man, probably no older than twenty, standing nervously at the end of the hallway, a riffle clutched tightly in his shaking hands.

"Intruder!" The man shouted, his voice shaking almost as much as his hands.

Ed let out a sigh and clapped his hands. Blue transmutation sparks stretched out and a moment later the riffle was knocked from the man's hands and went skidding across the ground for several meters. The man stared at Ed and Roy for a short moment before turning sharply and running down the hallway.

"Come on," Roy whispered, grabbing Ed by the hand as they began to walk faster.

Ed glanced behind his to make sure they weren't being followed before quickening his pace. The two of them ran in silence for a while until Roy slowed down and looked at a door towards the left of the hall. "This is it," He whispered quietly. "Get ready."

Ed nodded. Roy pushed the door open and took a step inside. Ed followed and a second after he did there was a startled yelp followed by a familiar voice yelling out, "Ed!"

Winry ran over to his and threw her arms around his neck. "Ed, I'm so glad you came." She looked up at Ed and smiled before taking a step back.

Ed looked at her for a moment with a puzzled look on his face. "Uh, Winry, did they do anything to you?"

Winry shook her head. "What do you mean?"

Before Ed could reply the door slammed closed and Daniel Tucker stood there, his back to the door. "Look who decided to join us," he said coldly.

Ed stared at Daniel for a moment, his anger returning. "You bastard!" Ed shouted. "You took Winry and now you dare show your damn face!"

Daniel pouted childishly. "Why do you always have to be so rude?"

"Don't talk back!" Ed clapped his hands together and threw them to the floor. A large fist came out of the ground and hit Daniel hard in the face.

Daniel stood there, not a single scratch on him. The rig on his finger began to glow. "You asked for it, Fullmetal Alchemist." The Transmutation Circle on Daniels' hands began to glow an icy shade of blue. A blast of frost shot out at Ed, who stood there without moving.

"Fulmetal!" There was a snap and a spark shot through the air, melting the frost just before it hit him. "You okay Fullmetal?" Roy asked.

Ed's head cleared and he looked at Roy and nodded. He turned back to Winry. "Stay back."

"But Ed," Winry protested.

Ed looked a Winry for a second before turning back to the enemy. "Bring it on."

Daniel smiled coldly. "As you wish." Daniel shot out another blast of frost but this time Ed was ready. He clapped his hands and a wall of rocks shot up from the ground, blocking the worst of the attack.

"Fullmetal," Roy said. "You remember the plan?"

Ed nodded. "How could I forget."

Roy smiled and ran towards the edge of the small room. Daniel got distracted and turned his back on Ed, who at that exact moment clapped his hands and pushed them down onto the ground. A large column of the floor shot out and knocked Daniel over, pushing him against a wall.

Roy took that opportunity and snapped his fingers, setting the ground, which had been secretly lined with gunpowder, ablaze. Daniel only smiled as the flames drew slowly closer to him.

"You thin you can beat me that easily?" He announced. He brought his gaze to Edward. "Oh yes, my Chimera. I'll find you one day, but for now, please enjoy this little show." Daniel managed to pull his hand out from between the pillar and the wall and point it at the flames. Despite the heat radiating from the fire, the ice still somehow put it out. Daniel placed his opposite hand against the column. There was a bright flash of light as the column exploded into many pieces. Daniel walked away from where he was standing and stretched. "That's much better. See you soon, my lovely Chimera." Daniel walked casually out of the room.

Ed dashed over but when he looked he saw no one there. "He's gone."

Roy walked over. "He also specializes at disguises and is good at escaping."

Ed looked up at Roy for a moment. Confusion shone in his golden eyes. "How much does this guy specialize in."

Roy thought for a moment. "I can't remember. I think it's in his file."

"Um, guys," Winry said nervously. "Can we leave?"

Ed nodded and Winry ran over to him. "Come on Winry, let's get out off this damn building."

The three of them walked in silence. Winry stayed very close to Ed and soon they walked through the front door and emerged into the bright sunlight outside. "It's been so long since I've seen sunlight," Winry announced.

"Winry!" Alphonse ran out of the bush and wrapped Winry in a bone crushing hug. "You're alive! You're human! You're not an animal!"

"Al. You're suffocating me," Winry said. Al dropped her and she stood there for a second, trying to get her breathing the way it was before Al hugged her.

"Come on," Roy said. "Let's go before they attack."

Ed nodded and followed Roy as he led the way to the cars. When they got there everyone else was sitting around. Hawkeye saluted to Roy. "Glad you made it sir."

Roy nodded. He turned to the assembles men. "Havoc, Falman, Breda, and Alphonse. You go with Hawkeye. The rest of you come with me."

Hughes walked over to Fuery and pulled out a picture of his daughter. Fuery immediately ran over to Roy. "Please, can I go with Hawkeye?" He begged.

"Sorry," Roy said, hiding his grin. "Both cars are full."

"I can switch with someone," Fuery begged.

Roy shook his head and turned away, heading back to his own car. Ed followed and sat down in the car. Fuery followed and Hughes took a seat right beside Fuery. Winry sat up front and Roy started the car.

Ed gazed out the window at the tall trees slowly fading, being replaced by houses, which were then replaced by buildings. Fuery covered his ears while Hughes told him another story about Elicia and showing his countless pictures. Ed still didn't know how he fit that many photos on his shirt pocket.

"Look at how cute Elicia is," Hughes said, shoving another photo in Fuery's face.

"Make it stop," Fuery complained, closing his eyes and pushing down harder on his ears to block out the noise.

"We're here," Roy announced after a while. Fuery didn't hear him since his ears were plugged. He found out when Hughes flicked him on the head to get his attention, shoving another picture of Elicia in his face. Fuery, noticing the car has stopped, jumped from his seat and scrambled out of the car as fast as he could.

"Hey wait!" Hughes called after him. "I've got more photos to show you!"

Ed got out more slowly, when he got outside he stretched, his body stiff from the long car ride.

"It's great to be out of that horrible place," Winry said with a sigh of relief.

" _That_ was horrible?" Ed said, slightly surprised. "You should have seen the place I was in."

Winry laughed. Her laugh was scratchy as if she hadn't done it in a while. "I missed you Ed."

Ed smiled. "Glad you're back."

Roy walked over to them, a smile on his face. "Come on love birds," he teased.

Ed's face reddened and Winry looked away from Ed. There was a flash of a light and Ed looked around to see Hughes holding a camera in his hands. "Can't miss this," Hughes said as he slid the camera back into his pocket.

Ed blushed until his face looked as red as a tomato. Turning away quickly, Ed followed Winry and Roy into Central HQ. Everyone else followed more slowly, except for Al, who ran over to Ed.

Soon they entered Roy's office. As usual Roy took a seat in his chair. He looked at the three teens and signaled for them to sit as well. Ed and Winry sat beside each other, but when Al decided to sit with them the whole couch sank under his weight. Winry and Ed fell on top of Al and struggled for a moment, each tangled in each other.

After a few short minuted Ed and Winry were finally sitting on the couch. Their struggle was entertainment to everyone else and Ed could have sworn he heard the snapping of a camera.

"Miss Rockbell," Roy began. "Would you like us to tell Pinako you're back?"

Winry nodded. "Yes please."

Roy nodded and picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Good afternoon Pinako," He greeted after a short moment.

"Yes, we've found Winry," Roy said a second later.

"Yes, she'll come, bye." Roy hung up the phone and looked at Winry. "Pinako says that she wants you to go back to Resembool."

Winry nodded and stood up. "I'll go after Ed does what he promised."

Ed looked at Winry questioningly. "I don't remember ever promising you anything."

"You told me that the next time I came to Central you'll buy me anything I want," Winry reminded him.

Ed sighed and lowered his head as he remembered what he promised. "I should really think twice before making a promise," he muttered in defeat.

Winry laughed and headed for the door. When Ed didn't follow her she turned around and looked in his direction. "Aren't you coming?"

Ed nodded, a smile spreading out on his face. _I'm glad she's herself_ , Ed thought, relief washing over him. "I'm coming Winry," He called, walking over to the door and following her through the hallway and down the street.

* * *

"Can you buy me this?" Winry asked excitedly, pointing at a wrench in the window of a shop.

Ed nodded. But that was when he noticed the price. "What! 5000 cenz!"

Winry nodded and before Ed knew it he had bought on of the most expensive item in each store. Soon Ed was walking down the street heading back to Central HQ, his arms full of bags containing everything Winry had forced him to buy.

Ed looked in his wallet and noticed that more than half his money was gone. _I spent all this on Winr,._ He thought. Although Ed had just spent half a fortune, he was glad that Winry was her old self again. When they were back in Roy's office Ed turned to Winry. "Um, Winry, can I ask you a question?"

Winry looked up from an automail mechanic book. "What is it?"

Ed took in a nervous breath"Uh, well, I-I was wondering if you could tell me what they did to you at that place?" Ed asked nervously, a bead of sweat falling down his forehead.

Winry nodded and closed her book. "I'll tell you anything you need to know."


	8. Chapter 8

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 8**_

Winry sat on the couch. She looked at Ed before releasing a sigh. "I'll tell you what happened."

Ed waited patiently for Winry to start speaking. He knew it must be hard for her to replay that horrible experience. Winry looked at Ed for moment before beginning her story.

"A few days after you left some guy came into my house and took me. They didn't need me, they were only using me to get you." Winry paused briefly. "I was there for roughly two weeks. I lost track of the days, though."

"Is that all?" Roy asked from his desk.

Winry nodded. "That's all."

Ed stood up angrily. _They took Winry only to get to me._ He clenched his fists and looked at Roy. "I'm going to go after him."

Roy sighed. "Not this again. Fullmetal, he obviously needs you for something, we can't let you put yourself in danger."

"Then what are you going to do about that bastard?" Ed yelled. "He's roaming the streets and you're doing nothing-"

"I've already handled it," Roy interrupted calmly. "I've already sent out a party to hunt him down."

Ed didn't look convinced. "So, are you just going to sit here while you have _others_ doing the work for you?"

Roy didn't answer him, instead he looked behind Edward at Havoc. "Havoc, I want you to make sure that Fullmetal doesn't go off alone. I want someone with him at all times."

"What!" Ed shouted. "I don't need someone following me around everywhere I go!"

"Fullmetal," Roy said, irritation pricking at his skin. "As I've already told you, Daniel Tucker is after _you._ Do you expect me to just sit around and let you get taken again?"

Edward just stared at Roy. Never before has Roy said anything like that. Ed just couldn't recall a time when Roy sounded concerned for his safety. "Fine, don't expect me to be happy about it." Ed crossed his arms. He swore he saw the faintest smile on Roy's face before he was rudely dragged from the office by Havoc.

Ed yanked his arm away from Havoc's and began to walk at his own pace. Alphonse came running up to him, followed by Winry. "Brother, you're finally listening."

Ed crossed his arms again. "Yeah yeah. I only listened 'cause I don't fell like going on any missions."

Winry looked around. "Ed, Al. I have to get back to Resembool, Granny said that I need to fix someones automail. See you later." Winry ran off down the hallway lugging he large bag that hung on her shoulder.

"Winry, be safe!" Ed called out, but Winry was already around the corner. Ed sighed, silently wishing that Winry would be okay and that Daniel would leave her alone. _If he lays one finger on her._ Ed clenched his fists. _He'll be sorry._ Ed walked into his dorm and Al followed.

"Hey Ed." Havoc pocked his head into the room. "You need anything?"

Ed shook his head and Havoc looked around at the piles of books and papers scattered around the room. "Boy, It's a mess in here."

"You can go," Ed said impatiently.

Havoc nodded. "I'll um, be out here then." Havoc went into the hall and shut the door. Ed locked it right after.

"Brother, you're planning something, aren't you." Al crossed his hands. "It better not be dangerous."

"I'm not planning anything." Ed flopped down onto his bed, put his hands behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. The two brothers sat in silence for a while, the only noise coming occasionally from Al's squeaking armor. Ed glanced at the clock and then out the window. The sun was still fairly high and Ed figured that he still had plenty of day left.

There was a knock on the door. "Edward, someone's here to see you," Havoc called. Ed got up and walked over to the door. He placed his hand on the handle and then remembered how nervous Havoc sounded when he called him. Ed hesitated until Al pulled his hand away and opened the door himself.

"Good afternoon Elric brothers," Fuhrer King Bradley greeted.

Ed stared in shock at the man as he casually approached him. Then Ed noticed something strange, though he couldn't tell what it was and the next second it was gone.

"F-fuhrer King Bradley," Ed said nervously. He followed Havoc example and saluted to him.

Bradley laughed. "No need to be so formal. I'm only here to talk to you."

Ed nodded and Bradley walked over and sat down on one of the chairs. "2nd Lieutenant Havoc, may you please close the door."

Havoc saluted. "Yes sir!" And closed the door with a soft click.

Bradley turned to Ed. "I've heard that you've been in contact with Daniel Tucker. Is that true?" He said it very seriously and Ed felt a slight chill run up his spine.

"Y-yes sir," Ed said nervously.

Bradley stood up and walked towards the door. With his hand placed firmly on the handle, he turned to look at Ed. "And Fullmetal. Don't go after him, that is an order." He opened the door and walked off down the hallway.

Once his footsteps had faded Ed lied back down heavily on his bed. After a while he accidentally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Brother!"

Ed jolted awake and looked wildly around the small room. _I swear I heard Al's voice_ , Ed thought, looking around for Al. Suddenly the door to the room was thrown open and Al ran in.

"Brother, you wont believe this!" Al shouted.

Ed stood up quickly. "What won't I believe?"

"He was caught," Al explained loudly.

"Who?" Suddenly Ed realized what he meant. His eyes widened and his heart pounded. "Do you mean Daniel Tucker?"

Al nodded several times before Grabbing Ed's hand and yanking him out of the room. The two of them began to run towards Roy's office. When they got there they saw Roy sitting calmly at his desk. "You got the news?" He asked.

Ed nodded and walked over to the desk. "Is it really true?" He demanded.

Roy nodded. "Yes, he's going to be put on trial tomorrow."

"What? Shou Tucker never went on trial and he did the same thing as Daniel," Ed protested. He felt the anger he felt when he found out that Nina was merged with a dog, when he found her guts splattered on the wall of an alley. Ed clenched his fists. He wasn't the type of person who thought that certain people should be executed, but he felt that Daniel deserved it. "Why don't you just execute him now so he'll die like his son?"

"We can't execute someone who wasn't put on trial," Roy explained slowly.

"But Shou Tucker was killed without a trial," Ed reminded him bitterly.

"I understand what you're trying to say, Fullmetal, but Daniel deserves to be put on trial," Roy said a bit more sternly.

Ed cat ears folded on his head but he stayed silent. Roy looked at him before turning to the papers on his desk. "I have work to do."

Ed walked from the office without saying another word. Al followed more slowly. When he reached his dorm Ed rudely pushed past Havoc and slammed the door in his face. The door was reopened and Al walked in. He closed the door softly and watched as Ed sat on his bed and glanced out the window.

"Brother," Al asked, nervous about whether or not his brother was going to snap at him. Instead Ed turned to look at Al calmly.

"What is it?"

"I wanted to ask you why you wanted Daniel Tucker to be executed?" Al asked in an innocent voice. Ed immediately turned away from Al.

"It's none of your damn business," He growled. Ed turned towards the window and stared at the birds flying past it. He let out a sigh and stood up. "I need to go somewhere." He turned away before Al could ask him where and walked out the door.

"Hey chief," Havoc called. Ed ignored him and kept walking. When Havoc tried to stop him he pushed him away. "Chief?"

Edward walked down the hallway of Central HQ and walked out the front entrance into the cool air outside. He took in a deep breath and kept walking. He rounded a corner and walked straight down the street. He heard the sound of people talking, but they sounded faraway and Ed couldn't make out a word of it.

 _That bastard, why is he still alive._ Ed kicked at a small stone and sent it flying. It landed with a small pang on the pavement a few meters away. Ed walked past it and looked back. Central HQ was only visible above the rooftops of the many houses and buildings that stood between itself and Ed.

"Big Brother!" Al ran around the corner and stopped when he spotted Ed. "Why did you leave like that?"

Ed turned away from him and shoved his hands into his pockets. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does," Al protested. "You've been acting strange for awhile now."

Ed shook his head and looked up at the sky as it slowly grew dark. "Al, I want to be left alone for a few minutes. Go back to our dorm."

"But-"

"Go." Ed turned away. Al hesitated for a brief moment before giving in to what Ed said and walking in the opposite direction towards Central HQ. Ed began to walk and after a while the sun had set and a single stare shone in the sky. Ed hear the rumbling of a car and headlights were pointed in his direction.

"Fullmetal!" A familiar voice shouted. The door to the car was thrown open and Roy ran towards him. He grabbed Ed's hand and yanked him towards the car. Ed pulled his hand away and took a step back.

"What the hell do you want?" he snarled. His eyes were full of hate as he glared directly at the Colonel.

Roy looked around quickly before grabbing Ed's hand again and pushing him into the back seat on the car. "Hawkeye."

"Yes sir." Hawkeye, who was sitting in the drivers seat, pushed on the gas and sped off down the street as fast a she could go.

"Aren't you going to tell me why you just did that?" Ed asked, angry with Roy for doing that.

"You're right Fullmetal," Roy said. "We should have killed him when we had the chance."

"What do you mean?"

"Fullmetal, Daniel Tucker broke out of prison _again_. Right before he left he said something about how he needs his chimera." Roy's hands twisted the end of his military coat nervously.

That was when it happened. The car they were in suddenly started sliding out of control on the road that was now covered in ice. Hawkeye tried her best to drive but failed when the car began to spin out of control and eventually crash into a telephone pole.

"You guys okay?" Roy asked. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that his subordinates were safe. Just then a person walked out from the darkness of the streets.

 _No, It can't be,_ Ed thought, but it was. Daniel Tucker walked towards the car, wearing his cream coat over top of a prison uniform. He grinned wickedly and his icy blue eyes stared at Ed with a mix of insanity and playfulness.

Ed stared in shock as Daniel inched closer to the car. Roy shouted something and Ed was yanked out of the car. The Colonel pulled on his ignition glove and Hawkeye turned off the safety of her gun. "Fullmetal, stay back."

Ed listened and stood just behind Hawkeye. Daniel smiled. He held up his hand. There was a bright flash and the ice from the street thawed quickly. Roy was splashed and his ignition glove became drenched in the water. He snapped but nothing happened. Daniel Tucker ran over to Hawkeye and knocked the gun easily from her hands and sending it flying across the ground.

"Lieutenant!" Roy shouted. Then it became clear that Daniel's target was Ed.

Daniel knocked Ed to the ground and pulled a small dagger off his belt, which he then pushed against Ed's neck. Ed felt the cold steel against the skin on his neck and he took in an unsteady breath, knowing that if Daniel were to move Ed would be a goner.

"Fullmetal!"

"Decide now," Daniel said coldly. He pushed the blade harder into Ed's neck. "You want this kid dead or alive?"

"Alive," Roy said immediately. Daniel smiled again and pushed harder.

"What do I get out of It?" He asked innocently, his eyes gleaming wickedly in the faint moonlight. "I don't see an Equivalent Exchange if I let you have him?"

Roy didn't know how to answer but when he saw blood drip slowly down Ed's neck he blurted out something he would soon wished he hadn't. "I don't care what I have to do. Just give me Edward."

Daniel smiled and dug the dagger even deeper into Eds neck. A small bead of sweat trickled down Ed's forehead at the thought of getting his throat ripped open by that man. "What I want is for you to give me my Chimera back."

Roy didn't move form his spot. Ed began to panic. _I can't go back there. I'd rather have you slice my throat_ , Ed thought helplessly.

"You can't have him!" Roy shouted. "Now let him go!"

"Let him go?" Daniel frowned. "But I don't wanna."

Roy grabbed the gun strapped to his side and pointed it at Daniel Tucker. "Hurt Fullmetal and I wont hesitate to shoot you."

Daniel glanced down at Ed before looking back at Roy, his eyes dancing with amusement. "If you shoot me this boy will surely perish."

Roy kept the gun pointed firmly at Daniel. "Take the knife away from his neck," he ordered in a voice full of steel. He released the safety on the gun.

Daniel smiled and removed the dagger from Ed's neck. He placed his hand firmly on the top of Ed's head and pushed his face onto the rough cement. Instead of putting the dagger away he stabbed it deep into Ed's side. Daniel twisted it and smiled when he saw Ed cringe in pain. He pulled it out slowly and ran off down the street. Roy began to fire bullet after bullet at Daniel, not a single bullet ever hitting him.

Ed stayed where he was. The wound wasn't that big but it still hurt like hell. His hand gripped his side as blood continued to pour out onto the ground. There was a startled gasp and Hawkeye ran over.

"Edward." Someone was shaking his shoulder. "Ed, answer me."

"What?" Ed grunted. Even saying that simple word had taken a lot of effort. Hawkeye helped him sit up and he noticed Roy coming over with a displeased expression.

"Fullmetal?" His eyes widened and he ran over. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ed stood up and looked at Roy. Hawkeye stood up as well and stared at Ed.

"Lieutenant, go see if the car works," Roy ordered. Hawkeye nodded and walked towards the car. She started it and the engines roared to life.

Seeing that the car worked, Roy stood up and looked at Ed. "Fullmetal, get in the car."

Ed obeyed and walked towards the car, leaving a few drops of blood on the ground as he walked. He got into the backseat of the car and sat there. He began to feel light-headed and didn't pay any attension where Hawkeye was driving until they were parked outside of the hospitable.

"What, I don't need to go to the-"

"You just got stabbed," Roy pointed out calmly. He looked back a Ed. "The wound's pretty deep isn't it?"

Ed ignored his and pouted, his cat ears folded against his head. By the time Ed was out of the car Roy had a black eye. The Colonel was now holding Ed's arms behind his back to prevent him from using alchemy. Hawkeye walked up to the front desk.

Ed looked up at Roy with a gaze full of hatred. A nurse walked over to them. "The doctor can see Mr. Elric now."

Roy continued to restrain Edward, knowing full well what Ed would do to that nurse. They walked into a small room where the doctor was waiting. Roy quickly warned them about Ed's temper before leaving the room.

It was only a few moments before there was a loud crash coming from the room. Roy looked inside and saw Ed standing in the corner with a chair in his hands as he tried to fend off the doctor and nurse.

"Fullmetal, stop terrorizing the doctor and let them do their job," Roy ordered. When Ed didn't put the chair down Roy walked over, knocked the chair from his hands, and held him against the wall. Ed began to struggle. He kicked and tried to free his arms from Roy's steel hard grip. His movements eventually slowed as he lost more blood. His face paled and Roy called the doctor over.

He continued to hold Ed there as the doctor looked closely at the wound.

"Hmm, just as I thought." The doctor turned to Roy. "He'll be fine. We're just going to give him a shot just in case there was something on the blade.

At the word 'shot' Ed's head shot up and he looked around with wild eyes. "I'm not getting a needle!" Ed managed to slip out of Roy's grip and made an attempt to run for the door. Roy easily grabbed him and pushed him against another wall. A nurse walked in with a needle and Ed's eyes widened. "No, anything but a shot!"

"Hold still," The nurse said but that only made Ed struggle more.

"I don't need one! I'm fine! Not a shot!" Ed yelled. Roy held his left arm still as the nurse quickly pocked the needle into his arm. When Ed saw the needle enter his flesh he let out a small whimper and turned away.

"All done." The nurse put the needle away and Ed ripped his arm away from Roy. "You're free to leave in half an hour."

* * *

 _25 minutes later..._

Ed stared straight ahead of him. His lower stomach was wrapped in bandages to stop the bleeding and his wound had been disinfected to prevent any infection. Ed looked up at Roy. "I hate you," he growled. "Why'd you have to take me here? That damn doctor said that I was fine."

"How was I to know that?" Roy replied innocently. "You were bleeding everywhere, what else was I suppose to do?"

"You know what?" Ed asked. "This is the second time you took me to the hospitable."

"How's that?"

"Remember when I had a tail, whiskers, and fangs?" Ed asked. Roy nodded. Ed continued. "You made me get them removed and I was at a hospitable."

Roy nodded. He was about to reply when the nurse walked over. "You're free to leave."

Ed stood up. "I'm never coming to a damn hospitable again!" He announce. Ed walked out the front door.

Roy turned to the nurse and apologized for Ed's rudeness and then followed Ed. The blond Alchemist got into the car and they drove back to headquarters. It was a short drive. There was no traffic and they quickly arrived a Central HQ. Ed got out of the car and stretched. His side was only a dull ache and didn't bother him that bad. He followed Roy into the building. As they walked down the halls Ed made a detour to his dorm.

"Where are you going Fullmetal?" Roy asked.

Ed to him. "I'm going to my dorm."

Roy shook his head. "You can't."

"Why's that?" Ed demanded.

"'I'll tell you in my office." Roy turned around and began to walk in the direction of his office. Ed wondered briefly what why he couldn't go in his dorm but followed the Colonel through the empty halls anyway.


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 9**_

"What?" Ed shouted loud enough to wake everyone in Central city. "What do you mean I have to stay with you?"

"Daniel Tucker is clearly after you." Roy's eyes drifted to Ed's side. "We don't know what he's capable of."

Ed clenched his trembling fists. "I can look after myself."

"Fullmetal, listen to me," Roy snapped, his patience for Ed vanishing. "I don't like this anymore than you do. Unless you'd rather stay with the Major? I've heard that he would gladly let you stay."

"You damn bastard," Ed growled.

"So is that a yes?" Roy asked.

Ed continued to glare at Roy but said nothing. He knew that if he stayed with the Major he probably wouldn't survive the night, but if he stayed with Roy he would have to put up with that bastard until Daniel was caught.

"I'm waiting Fullmetal," Roy said. Ed looked up at him and let out a sigh.

"I'll stay with you." Ed thought for a brief moment. "Only on one condition. You send Al back to Resembool."

Roy looked at Ed with slight confusion. "I thought you would want him to stay with you?"

Ed shook his head and looked down at the floor. "I don't want him to get involved in this. Daniel Tucker is my enemy, not his. I don't want him getting hurt."

Roy nodded, agreeing with what Ed told him. "We'll buy a ticket in the morning." He turned to Hawkeye. "Lieutanent, can you go with Ed when he goes to get his bags?"

Hawkeye nodded and followed Ed out of the room. Ed walked slowly down the hall, trying to think of how to explain it to Al if he happened to be there. He reached his dorm and slowly opened the door. Inside he saw Al and Havoc playing cards while sitting at the table. When Al saw Ed he dropped his hand of cards and ran over to him.

"Brother, where were you?" Al wrapped his arms around Ed, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Al. Can't breath," Ed gasped. Al loosened his grip and Ed took a step back. He looked around, spotted his bag, and began to throw various books and clothes in it.

Al looked at him curiously before asking him what he was doing.

"I have to go somewhere," Ed replied simply. Al didn't say anything after that. Ed continued to pack and when he was finally done he had to do the impossible task in shutting the bag. At first it seemed easy, them after zipping it shut about half way the zipper got stuck. Ed sat on top of the bag and tried to force it closed. Al let out a small laugh and pushed down on the top of the bag and zipped it shut with ease.

"Thanks," Ed mumbled. He picked up his bag and walked towards the door. Before he left he heard Al call his name. Ed turned around and looked over at Al.

"Brother, where are you going?" He asked again.

Ed sighed. "I have to go with that bastard Colonel."

Al looked at him before going back to his card game. Ed shut the door behind him with a soft click and started down the hallway.

Ed reached Roy's office and saw him standing there, tapping his foot in the ground with impatience. "What took you so long?"

"I uh, had some difficulties with my bag." Ed held up his bag that looked as though it was about to explode.

Roy walked out of the office and Ed reluctantly followed him.

Roy borrowed a military car since his was damaged from crashing into the pole. Ed got in and stared out the window. The sky was dark and little light illuminated the streets. Roy began to drive down the street, stopping occasionally for a traffic light. After about ten minutes Roy pulled into the driveway of a small house. Ed got out and looked up at it.

He couldn't see much details because of the dark but he could tell that it was fairly new. Ed followed Roy to the front door where the Colonel began to search for his keys. Roy opened the door and two of them walked into the warm house. A bright light was flicked on and Ed noticed how clean and organized it was.

Ed followed Roy into the living room and saw a bookshelf against the wall with rows of books stacked neatly on the shelves. A leather couch and matching chair surrounded a small wooden table. Ed tossed his bag onto the couch and looked at Roy.

"Got anything to eat?" He asked.

"There's food in the kitchen." Roy pointed to an open door. Ed walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He frowned when all he saw was vegetables or fruit.

Ed walked back into the living room. "Hey Roy, why do you only have vegetables in your fridge?"

"There's cereal in the cupboard." Roy sat down on the couch and opened a book.

Ed walked back into the kitchen and opened a cupboard. On the top shelf was a box of cereal. Ed reached up to grab it but the box was well out of his reach. He climbed onto the counter and reached up again, this time successfully grabbing the box. Ed then lost his balance and fell to the floor with a loud thump.

Roy walked into the kitchen and looked down at Ed who lay on the floor surrounded by cereal. The Colonel had to hold back a laugh, not caring that his kitchen was now a mess. "Fullmetal, what are you doing on the floor?"

"Why do you keep your cereal so damn high?" Ed retorted angrily. He stood up with the box and pointed at the mess on the floor. "I'm not cleaning that up."

"There's milk in the fridge."

Ed face turned a pale shade of green. "I don't need any damn milk."

Roy shrugged and left the room. Ed walked into the living room with the box of cereal in his hands. He sat down on the couch and opened his bag. Clothes and books spilled everywhere . Roy looked at Ed and raised an eyebrow.

"Fullmetal, how much mess are you going to make today?" He asked as he placed his book on the table.

"Depends on how much you bug me," Ed muttered. After shoving everything back into the bag Roy stood up and looked down at Ed.

"I'll show you to your room." Roy then walked towards a staircase at the end of the room. When Ed didn't follow he looked back and said, "Aren't you coming?"

"Huh, yeah, I'm coming." Ed grabbed his bag and walked up the stairs after Roy. He walked down a short hall and then walked through a doorway and into a small room. There was a large window on the opposite wall and a bed was pushed against the wall towards Ed's right, and a small table was pushed against the bed. An empty black bookshelf was leaning against the left wall and another desk sat beneath the window.

Ed dropped his bag on the bed and looked over at Roy. "This is where I have to say?"

Roy frowned. "What, you don't like it?"

Ed shook his head. "No, the room's fine. It's just that it's a bit small."

"It's either this or my couch."

Ed decided that he would rather sleep on a bed and began to make himself at home. When Roy left and closed the door, Ed dumped out his bag on the dusty floor. He grabbed his books and stacked them dangerously on the small table beside his bed. He left his clothes where they were and sat down. The bed must have bumped into the table because the pile of books came crashing down on Ed.

The door to his room opened and Roy walked in, looking startled as well as tired. "What are you doing Fullmetal?"

Ed pushed the books off of him and looked at the Colonel. He began to laugh when he noticed Roy was wearing light blue pajamas decorated with yellow ducks. "What the hell are you wearing?"

"That doesn't matter." Roy looked around the messy room. "What did you do to this room?"

"I had a problem with my bag again," Ed admitted.

Roy glanced at the many books that surrounded Ed. "There's a bookshelf over there you know." He pointed to the empty bookshelf. "You can put them there. Unless you needed to sleep with them." He let out a small smirk.

Ed grabbed his books and threw them onto the bookshelf. Roy's gaze drifted to the clothes that lined the floor. He opened his mouth to speak but Ed grabbed the clothes and threw them into his bag. "There, you can go now."

Roy left without another word. Ed closed the door and sat down on the bed. Moonlight spilled into the dark room and a fresh wind blew through a small crack in the glass. Ed lay down on the bed and gazed up at the ceiling, wondering how long he had to stay there.

* * *

The next morning Ed sat in the kitchen, shoving dry cereal into his mouth. _I hope the Colonel buys more food. I can't live off of cereal for the rest of my life_ , Ed thought as he shoved the last of the cereal into his mouth.

Earlier that day Roy left and went to take Alphonse to the train station, but before he left he looked at Ed and asked him if he could stay alone for an hour without vandalizing down his house and Ed insisted that his house would be in one piece when he got back.

Now Ed sat there, finishing the last of the stale cereal. He stood up, stretched, and walked into the living room. He sat down on the couch and opened his book. For a while he read until he heard the door open. He looked up and saw Roy walk into the house, a bag of groceries in his hands.

"You buy anything edible?" Ed asked.

Roy walked past him and put the bag in the kitchen. Ed watched as Roy put several boxes of cereal and some bread away. "Is that all you bought, bread and cereal?"

Roy nodded. "If you don't like it then tell me what you want before I go to the store."

"You never told me you were going to the store," Ed muttered to himself.

Roy finished putting the food away and then turned to Ed. "I have to go to work. You're coming with me."

"Why do I have to go?" Ed protested.

"I'm not leaving you here alone."

"Why's that?" Ed demanded. "I was alone a few minutes ago."

Roy let out an uneasy breath and said in a whisper, "Daniel Tucker was spotted moments ago in this area."

Ed's heart began to beat fast as he began to panic. _He can't be here. He can't._ "Fine, I'll come."

"Go get anything you need. We'll be there for the day." Roy walked towards the door.

Ed dashed up the stairs and into his room. He grabbed a handful of books and walked downstairs. Roy was waiting at the door, his car keys clutched tightly in his hands. "Come on Fullmetal." He walked over to the car. Ed followed him and got into the rented military military car. Roy drove down the street and Ed looked out the window.

As the car drove he got a short glimpse of Roy's house but couldn't see any details apart from the white paint before the car rounded a corner and the house disappeared from view. Ed continued to stare out the window at the unfamiliar streets and houses. As they neared Central HQ the streets grew more familiar as well as busier.

Roy soon parked the car in the all too familiar parking lot at Central HQ and got out. Ed followed, holding his stack of books in his arms. The two of them walked silently into Roy's office, startling Havoc who quickly jumped out of Roy's chair behind his desk.

"Good morning sir!" He announced with a salute.

Roy nodded and took a seat at his desk. He wrinkled his nose. "Havoc, could you not smoke at my desk again."

"Yes sir!" Havoc saluted again, a bead of nervous sweat rolling down his forehead.

Ed sat down heavily on one of the couches and opened his first book. As he read the clock slowly ticked by, and he didn't realize the time until he felt someone prodding him in the shoulder. "Fullmetal, I'm going."

Ed looked up from his book. "But we just got here?" He asked, confused why they were leaving so suddenly.

Roy shook his head. "We've been here for several hours." Ed looked at the clock and noticed that Roy was right.

With a yawn, Ed followed Roy out of his office. _Why the hell am I so tired?_ Ed thought, yawning again. He got to the car and got into the passengers seat. Roy began to drive off down the street and Ed rested his head on the cool glass of the window.

* * *

Roy puled into his driveway and looked over to his right at Ed, who appears to have fallen asleep. He shook the young boys shoulder. "Fullmetal, wake up."

Ed's ears twitched and he opened his eyes. "Huh?" He looked around at his surroundings. "We here already?"

Roy nodded and got out of the car. Ed followed and walked, half asleep, to the front door. Roy fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Ed walked into the house yawning and sat down on the couch. Roy glanced at the clock. _I should start making dinner_ , He thought, noticing that it was already six o'clock.

He looked through his cupboards and tried to think of something to cook. He pulled out a few ingredients and began to set off to work. He chopped vegetables up and tossed them onto a plate. He cooked the beef and grabbed some buns. It took about an hour, but he finally had successfully made hamburgers. Roy set the table and walked into the living room, finding Ed asleep again.

"Fullmetal." Roy shook Ed's shoulder. "Wake up. Dinners ready."

Ed woke up slowly and gazed up tiredly at Roy. "Not hungry." He closed his eyes but Roy shook him again. Ed looked back up at him, slight irritation visible in his golden eyes. "I already told you I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat," Roy insisted. "You can sleep when you're finished."

Ed slowly got up, yawned, and followed Roy into the kitchen. The blond sat down on the table and began to slowly eat his food. Roy watched Ed's head slowly dip down and then used the hamburger he was eating as a pillow. Silent snored filled the kitchen and a small laugh escaped Roy.

"Fullmetal," Roy said loud enough to wake the boy. "You're sleeping on your food."

Ed slowly sat up and yawed. Roy had to laugh loudly when he saw the top hamburger bun stuck to his face. Ed looked at him confused for a minute before realizing what he was laughing at. Ed's face turned bright red and he pulled the bun off his face quickly.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Roy suggested, noticing how Ed could barley keep his eyes open.

Ed nodded and stood up. "Night," He mumbled before heading towards the stairs.

Ed sat down on his bed and closed his eyes. He kept wondering over and over again why he was suddenly so tired. Feeling himself beginning to drift off to sleep, Ed pulled the blanket over his head and within seconds was asleep.

* * *

 _Ed looked around at the frozen landscape that spread out before him. Ice covered the frozen lake and waist-high snow buried the ground. Ed took a few cautious steps forward and then stopped suddenly. The wind seemed somewhat_ _ominous_ _. Ed took a step back and listened and thought he heard a faint yell, like someone was in danger._

 _He walked towards the sound and soon enough found himself facing a mangled body; bloody and broken. With a jolt of horror Ed realized that he recognized the golden hair and red coat. It was him._

" _Like it?" A malevolent voice asked him. "It's my specialty."_

 _Ed turned around and came face-to-face with a man that was all to familiar. "D-Daniel Tucker," Ed whispered nervously._

Ed jolted awake. He was still shivering as he imagined the cold climate of his dream. It took his a minute to realize that his room was what was making him cold. Ed pulled the blanket from the top of his head and saw ice creeping along his window and across his walls. The ice continued to slowly row until most of the room was frozen and white.

A shadow then appeared on his wall and Ed's heart thumped loudly in his chest as he watch a man slowly slide into view.

"Good to see you again, my lovely chimera," Daniel Tucker whispered quietly.

Ed's eyes widened. _How did he find me? Why did he come here?_ Questions like that whirled around in Ed's mind. He felt scared, no, terrified at the thought of what Daniel might do to him.

Daniel inched closer. Ed backed away. Daniel stopped walking and frowned. "Why do you keep running away from me?"

Ed couldn't talk. His mind whirled with the thought of what Daniel might do to him. He got off his bed and bolted for the door. His plan to escape failed when he slipped on the ice covering the floor and fell to the ground with a loud bang.

* * *

Roy looked up from his book suddenly when he heard a loud bang. Placing the book on the table, Roy walked towards the stairs. _Ed probably fell out of the bed_ , He thought. But he knew that wasn't what happened

Roy creaked Ed's bedroom door open slowly and saw the room covered in ice. "Fullmetal?"

"Colonel!" Came a hopeful reply. Roy threw the door open fully and saw Daniel Tucker standing a few feet from him. Roy's eyes quickly scanned the room and spotted Ed sitting on the floor, a small drop of blood rolling from a small scratch in his forehead.

Roy felt his anger rising as he turned to looked directly at Daniel. "What did you do to Fullmetal?"

"I didn't do anything," Daniel replied innocently. He pointed at Ed. "He's the one who fell."

Roy's fist began to tremble from anger. He pulled on his ignition glove and Daniel laughed. Roy was about to snap when Daniel ran. "I'll see you soon, my lovely chimera!" He announced before jumping out of the window.

"Fullmetal, are you okay?" Roy asked when he was beside Ed.

Ed nodded and wiped away the blood on his face. "I'm fine, just hit my head." Roy noticed that Ed's golden eyes were wild with fear.

"Fullmetal, what exactly did he say?" Roy needed to know what he said. If he knew he might be able to capture him for good.

Ed took a shaky breath before repeating what Daniel told him. Roy nodded slowly.

Ed stood up and looked down at the ground. He wiped the blood away again and the looked back up at Roy. "He's not going to stop until he's caught me?" Ed said, unable to make his trembling voice any higher than a whisper.

Roy felt him anger rising rapidly. Edward Elric was innocent, he's never done anything to deserve what Daniel Tucker's trying to do to him. Sure he's done things in the past and committed the ultimate taboo, but he didn't deserve what was happening to him. "Edward, I'm going to get Daniel Tucker and stop this once and for all."


	10. Chapter 10

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 10**_

Ed sat nervously in Roy's office, tossing his pocket watch from hand to hand. The Colonel had been talking on the phone for a good hour, trying to find the whereabouts of Daniel Tucker. Every small sound made Ed jump, thinking that it was Daniel. He heard a small squeak of he floorboards and nearly jumped out of his seat. It turned out it was only Black Hayate.

Ed let out the nervous breath that he realized that he'd been holding and placed his hand on Hayate's head. Hayate barked happily and placed it's front paws on the couch and looked up at Ed, his brown eyes full of wonder and curiosity.

"Damn it!" Roy slammed he phone down and ran his hand through his hair.

Hawkeye walked over and place the phone on the receiver. "Sir, could you be more gentle when hanging up the phone?"

"I will if I could ever find any information," Roy muttered. He picked up a piece of paper with a list of all the placed that Daniel had been spotted in the past and crossed another name out. "52 places and no ones seen a single hair of Daniel."

Ed looked up at the sound of knocking on the office door. It was thrown open to reveal a breathless Havoc.

"I've found him," He replied between gasping breaths. "Three blocks from here in front of an ice cream shop."

Roy stood up quickly and grabbed his coat. "Lieutenant, come with me."

Ed stood up. "What about me?"

"I don't want you getting hurt," Roy replied truthfully. Ed took another step forward.

"I'm coming." Roy could tell that Ed would not take a 'no' for an answer. The fire that shone brightly in his eyes was proof that he was ready for a fight. "I also want revenge. He's tho one who did this to me, I'm going to make him pay." Ed pointed to the cat ears on the top of his head.

Roy knew Edward well enough to know that he didn't often use revenge to motivate him to do something, but Roy knew that it wasn't what Daniel did to _him_ , it's what he did to Winry that was setting Ed on the path for vengeance.

"Fine, you can come." Roy let out a sigh of defeat. "Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Fuery,. I want the three of you to come as well, in case we need back up."

"Yes sir!" The four of them said together as they saluted.

* * *

Ed looked around nervously, half expecting Daniel to jump out of nowhere like he did the other night. Roy walked close to Ed as if he was nervous about the same thing. It was early morning and the sun was barley in the sky, sending little light to brighten the street. Behind them, Hawkeye and Havoc both had a large riffle strapped to their back, while Breda, Fuery, and Falman only carried smaller ones.

The area around them showed definite signs that Daniel had been there, the most noticeable one was the fact that the ground was covered in a thin layer of ice. Ed felt his heart beat faster and he walked closer to Roy. Roy seemed to notice how Ed was staying close to him, because he put a hand on the blond's shoulder.

"Don't worry Ed," he said. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Ed nodded. He trusted Roy, but he wasn't sure if Roy was saying that just to reassure him. Ed was glad that he sent Alphonse back to Resembool and that he didn't have to be here. Ed let part of him relax knowing that both Al and Winry were safe.

They were there for a few short minutes before Ed heard footsteps behind them. He turned around and held back a nervous gasp when he saw the familiar Glacier Alchemist walking towards them.

Daniel pulled out his usual toothy grin and spread out his hands. "Why, looks like my Chimera finally decided to show up." He took a couple of steps closer. Hawkeye pulled out her gun and pointed it at him, releasing the safety.

Roy walked in front of Edward, blocking him from Daniel. Pulling on his ignition glove, Roy Mustang turned to face the enemy.

Daniel frowned. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to fight. All I want is my Chimera, but-"

"Shut up," Roy growled. "You're not taking Edward again."

"But you don't have a choice," Daniel replied. His voice held a slight amused tone hidden beneath his usual laid back and innocent voice.

"Shut up before you get hurt!" Roy shouted. He pointed his hand at Daniel, ready to snap. Ed could see the intense fire in his eyes that glowed almost as brightly as his flames. Ed stayed well back. Part of him wanted to fight while another part wanted to run away his his tail between his legs. If he still had one, that is.

"I don't think you would be able to hurt me even if you tried." Daniel's smile made Ed feel uncomfortable and he felt his anxiety and fear rising.

"You wanna bet?" Roy met Daniel square in the eye; cold black on icy blue. Ed could tell that a fight was just waiting to get started. Daniel's eyes glowed dimly in the growing light. Roy walked forward to stand in front of his subordinates. "Stay back. Guard Ed with your life." Was his only order.

"So you're willing to risk the lives of everyone close to you in order to protect this one boy." Daniel laughed a cold, cruel laugh.

"Lieutenant, be ready," Roy said without taking his eyes off Daniel.

Hawkeye nodded and gripped her gun tighter. "Yes sir."

Roy turned his full attention to the man, his enemy, standing before him. "Daniel Tucker, you dare to take Ed away, you deserve everything that's coming your way," Roy growled out of pure hatred. His eyes narrowed. "Feel my wrath!"

Roy snapped his fingers, instantly burning the beam of ice that came shooting his way. Daniel pointed his palm at Mustang and shot another beam of ice, this one with more force than the last, at Roy.

 _Snap!_ The beam melted into a small puddle right at Roy's feet. The battle continued to rage on, With every beam of ice shot his way, Roy melted it with one swift movement. Hawkye, Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Fuery all stood with their guns pointed at Daniel ready to follow the Colonels orders to protect Ed.

Daniel laughed loudly as he dodged, yet another, of Roy's flame attacks. "You're going to tire out eventually! By the time I'm hit, your flames won't even be hot enough to cook toast!"

Roy didn't let Daniel's threats stop him. Th only thing on his mind was to protect Edward, even at the cost of his own life. With each snap, his flames _did_ weaken, although they were still hot enough to burn a man alive.

Daniel's eyes drifted off to where Ed was standing right behind of Roy's subordinates.

Gunshots rang out piercing the air and made the lonely street sound like a battle field. Ed looked up just in time to see Daniel Tucker diving down towards him. Hawkeye turned around but hesitated to pull the trigger. Daniel was standing feet from her, she could have easily killed him right then and there, but he had Ed.

Daniel smiled wickedly and created a swirling vortex of ice, trapping both Daniel and Ed inside. Ed looked around, wide-eyed with panic. _There has to be a way out._ Ed looked around frantically for an exit. He was about to jump through the ice when he heard Daniel's amused voice.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned. "Unless you want to freeze to death?"

Ed's heart pounded in his chest and threatened to jump right out. Taking a nervous step back, Ed tried to steady his uneven breaths. "W-why are you doing this?"

"Why am I doing this? That's a good question." Daniel smiled. "You see, ever since I was young, I was set on the path of revenge. Each and every person on my list perished." He took a step closer to Ed. "But you're different, I need my Chimera alive. I still have to finish my work, and it looks like I would have to do several steps again."

Ed took another step back, going as close as he could to the vortex of ice without touching it. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. "Let me go. Leave me alone."

Daniel frowned. "And why would I do that?"

Ed looked pleadingly at Daniel and said in a small voice, "Please let me go?"

"As you wish, my lovely chimera." Daniel smiled cruelly and the swirling vortex of ice came crashing down on top of Ed.

* * *

"Edward!" Roy yelled as loudly as he could. It happened so suddenly. Daniel creating a swirling icy vortex that trapped both him and Edward inside. It had only been no more than a minute, even so, Roy continued to yell out Ed's name until his voice felt raw. "Edward!"

"Colonel, the barrier." Hawkeye pointed up and Roy saw the top begin to collapse. Slowly, the vortex that trapped Ed began to crumble, large chunks of ice hitting the ground and shattering feet from Roy.

Roy stood there, shocked at what he was seeing. He would have been squashed if Havoc hadn't pulled his away. "Sir, are you _trying_ to die?"

"Fullmetal's in there," He yelled, stating the obvious.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Havoc said, irritated at how stubborn the damn Colonel was being.

It was a few short minuted before the entire vortex collapsed. Roy pushed Havoc away and ran over. Daniel was nowhere to be seen and neither was Ed. For a brief moment Roy thought that Daniel had taken Ed, that was until he spotted the red cloth.

Roy ran over and dug and the snow and ice. A second later he pulled Ed out of the frozen ice and held him in his arms. The boy's skin was deathly pale and as cold as ice. His lips had a faint blue tint to them. With trembling fingers, Roy began to frantically search for a pulse, anything to show that Ed was still alive. Finally he felt a faint, yet strong, thumping against his fingers. Roy held Ed tightly in his arms, not ever daring to let the boy go again.

"Colonel, is Edward alright?" Hawkeye asked with a faint hint of concern in her voice.

Roy stayed where he was on the ground, his arms still wrapped tightly around Ed's small, freezing body. Hawkeye walked over and felt for herself how cold Ed was. She took off her military coat and wrapped it around the blond's body. Roy stood up. "Lieutenant, lets get back to HQ."

Hawkeye nodded and stood up. Roy quickly walked back to HQ, often glancing right and left wondering when Daniel Tucker was going to attack Ed next.

* * *

Ed groaned and rolled over. The cold crept further into his body, chasing away his the little warmth he still had. He tried to remember why he was so cold, but he couldn't grasp the memory. It was right there, right within his reach, but yet he still couldn't grab it. It took Ed another long moment to begin to wonder where he was. Opening one bleary eye he realized that he was lying on the couch in the Colonels office.

"Awake now?" Roy's voice asked him.

Ed sat up and looked confused at the Colonel. "How'd I get here?"

"I carried you here after you almost froze to death under a pile of ice," Roy told informed.

Then Ed remembered. The suffocating darkness, the freezing ice that penetrated deep within his body. He started shaking, not only with cold, but also with fear. He pulled the blanket around him tighter. "Did did you ever get Daniel?"

Roy shook his head. Bitter defeat shone on his face. Even without the shake of his head, Ed could have easily told that Roy had failed in capturing Daniel.

Ed allowed himself sink back onto the couch. He closed his eyes trying to gather his jumbled thoughts. _Why is Daniel so fixated on capturing me?_ Was his thought.

"Fullmetal, what happened in that vortex?" Roy asked suddenly, jolting Ed out of his thoughts.

Ed tried to remember. It was all a blur, he had trouble picking out one specific detail among all the jumbled blurry thoughts that swirled through his foggy mind. "He?" Ed sighed. "I'm sorry Colonel, I can't remember."

Roy began to wonder if Ed was hit on the head when someone walked into his office. "Sir?" Hawkeye asked. "How's Edward?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Roy pointed at Ed.

Hawkeye looked over at Ed and smiled. "Good evening Edward."

"Good evening?" Ed whispered quietly to himself, repeating what Hawkeye had said. He looked from Hawkeye to Roy. "But didn't we go to look for Daniel in the morning?"

"You've been passed out on my couch all day," Roy told him.

Ed let out an irritated sigh. "Why didn't you wake me then?"

"We tried," Hawkeye informed him. "But you didn't wake up, no matter what we did."

Ed leaned back on the couch. _I'm such a fool,_ He thought. _Sleeping on that bastards couch all day._ He looked down at the floor. "I'm gonna go back to my dorm." Ed was telling the truth that time and wasn't going to take an unscheduled trip to the library again. All he wanted to do was sleep. He didn't know why he was so tired at the moment even though he's been sleeping the entire day.

"Edward, I'm not letting you go anywhere alone," Roy told him. "After what's been happening, I don't think you should be alone."

"What?" Ed protested. "I can protect myself on my own."

"And look where that's got you," Roy said. "You've been unconscious all day and you nearly died this morning. Do you expect me to let you go off alone when all that happened when you had _six_ people guarding you?"

Ed hesitated. What Roy was saying was true. Ed felt scared when he was alone, terrified and wondering if Daniel would appear before him again, yet he was embarrassed when other people tried to protect him. His thoughts were a jumbled mass like a ball of string that had been attacked by a cat one too many times.

"Edward, how about you stay at my place for a bit longer?" Roy suggested. "All your stuff's there anyways."

Ed thought about it for a minute before nodding. "As long as I'm not attacked again tonight."

Roy walked over and placed his hand reassuring on Ed's shoulder. "Edward, I promise that I'll protect you with my life."

Ed felt a spark of hope begin to light up, finally promising light at the end of this seemingly unending tunnel of darkness.


	11. Chapter 11

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist._

 _ **Chapter 11**_

Ed slept restlessly that night. He often woke up suddenly, breathing hard and covered in cold sweat as he tried to forget the vivid dream he was just having. Most of his dreams were from the time he spent in that horrible laboratory and of Daniel Tucker. However, a small percentage of the dreams were lost and he couldn't quiet remember them. Often, stray scene floated through his mind, only to be chased away by the ones that he could remember more accurately.

At some point in the early morning, Ed jolted awake by his worst dream yet. He sat up in the bed, breathing hard. He pulled his knees up to his chest and tried to steady his uneven breaths. A bead of sweat rolled down his face and landed, without a sound, on his black pants.

No matter how hard he tried to forget, the dream kept returning, each time the picture was clearer than the last. He sat there for a while, unable to think straight and his mind clouded by the scene that raced past his vision repeatedly.

The sun was hardly up and it was pretty much dark outside. Ed decided to try to sleep once more. Hopefully he doesn't have nightmares this time.

* * *

Roy's alarm clock woke him up early that morning. The repeated beeping gave him the start of a headache. He rolled over and tried to hit the snooze button and accidentally knocked the whole clock to the floor.

"Damn it," Roy muttered. His five extra minutes of sleep appeared to be gone. He lazily stood up, half asleep, and picked the clock off the floor. It continued beeping until Roy yanked the cord from the wall. The beeping immediately faded. He placed the now silent clock back onto the small table beside his bed and stretched.

Roy quickly got changed and walked out of the room. As he walked past the room Edward was in he heard a slight whimpering sound. He opened the door a crack and peered into the dark room.

He saw Ed lying on the bed, his right hand gripping the edge of the sheet. Roy walked in further and heard Ed mumbling words that were too quiet to make out.

"Edward, you okay?" Roy whispered.

There was no answer. He knelt beside the bed and gently shook Ed's shoulder. "Edward, wake up."

Ed's only reply was and sad whimper that sounded like, "I'm sorry." Roy then realized that Ed must have been having a nightmare. Before Alphonse got on the train to head to Resembool, he told Roy that Ed occasionally had a bad nightmare about his mother and then explained how to help him.

 _This better work_ Roy thought. He felt himself blushing. He reached out a hand and placed it on Ed's shoulder. "Edward, It's okay."

Ed was silent before a shudder passed through his body. He gripped Roy's hand tightly. "A-Alphonse, I-I'm sorry," he mumbled. He took an uneasy breath. "S-Sorry."

 _Poor kid_ , Roy thought. When he moved his hand Ed's grip on it tightened. Roy stared down at Ed sadly. He felt bad for him. He was only a kid, barley fifteen, and he's gone through so much pain. Roy's eyes drifted to Ed's automail and then to the two golden cat ears that were perched on his head.

Eds grip on Roy's hand loosened and his whimpering died down. Roy waited there until the boys whimpering was completely gone before slowly creeping out of the room. He began to cook breakfast, the entire time wondering what kind of dream could make Ed like that. He was a strong kid and he's never seen Ed like that, so full of pain. The type of pain that didn't leave a scar.

Breakfast was almost done by the time he heard the sound of someone walking down the stairs. He knew it was Ed because every other footstep sounded like metal hitting hardwood.

"Good morning Edward," Roy greeted when Ed walked into the kitchen.

"Morning," Ed mumbled.

Roy took the last sausage off the pan and turned to look at Ed. He was surprised to find how horrible the boy looked. His face was pale, his eyes dull, and he overall looked depressed. "Are you okay Ed?" Roy couldn't help be feel nervous as he looked at Ed's face. He wasn't use to seeing Ed like that, usually he was cheerful or mad, never upset.

"I'm fine." Roy saw Ed look down at the floor. Roy put the food onto two plates and sat down across from Ed, handing him one of the servings of food.

Ed didn't make any sign to show that he knew what was going on. His eyes appeared to be out of focus. The blond shook his head roughly and suddenly noticed what was going on. "Thanks," he mumbled. His eyes were fixed loosely on the plate of food sitting on the table in front of him.

"Edward, I know something's wrong," Roy started. He tried to sound kind but he probably sounded impatient because he saw Ed flinch. "I want you to answer me properly."

Ed hesitated. He took in an unsteady breath of air before looking sadly up at Roy. "I can't take it anymore," he said, his voice holding a great amount of hurt and defeat. "I can't handle anymore encounters with Daniel Tucker. I've already lost track of time's he's tried to kill me."

Roy continued to feel bad for the young boy. His eyes, usually so bright, were a dull gold. He couldn't stand seeing his like this, he was willing to risk his own life to save Ed.

"Edward, I promise that wont let you die," Roy promised. He tried to sound convincing, wanting only to reassure the boy. It appeared to work because Ed nodded and began to slowly eat the food on the plate in front of him.

* * *

Ed pressed his ear against the door and tried to listen to the conversation Roy and Haweye were having in the other room. However, he only caught the end of the interesting conversation.

"I don't want him to get hurt." That was definitely Roy's voice, but there was something to it, a hidden emotion. Ed listened harder. "I care too much about him. I can't stand to see him taken by Daniel." Ed figured it out. _Fear_ was the hidden emotion in the Colonel's voice.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Hawkeye said trying to reassure him.

Ed heard a sigh and footsteps growing louder every time they hit the ground. Just then the door opened and Ed jumped back in surprise, tripping over his own feet and landing hard on the floor.

Roy looked down at him curiously, his eyebrow raised. "Fullmetal, what are you doing on the floor?"

"I fell," Ed said quickly.

Hawkeye appeared behind Roy and looked down a Ed. "Edward, I know you were eavesdropping."

Ed stood up. "I wasn't eavesdropping," he insisted. Both Hawkeye and Roy didn't look like they believed him.

"Anyway, I have to go to work today," Roy spoke up, changing the subject.

Ed felt the slightest burst of fear at the thought of being left alone. He was scared, wondering constantly is Daniel was going to get him. His dreams were haunted by horrible memories.

Hawkeye seemed to notice his discomfort because she smiled reassuringly down at him. "I'm staying here when the Colonel goes to work. Just in case anything happens."

Ed nodded. He knew that Hawkeye was good with guns and rarely missed her target. He felt better when he knew that she would be there. Yet, at the same time, a part of him was trying to warn him about something.

"I should get going," Roy said again. He headed for the door and then turned back to look at Ed. "Fullmetal, there's some cereal in the cupboard if you get hungry."

Ed crossed his arms over his chest. "You know I eat things besides cereal?"

Roy smiled, although Ed could tell that it was forced. "I know Edward." Those were Roy's parting words as he walked out the door.

The house was quiet for a moment before Hawkeye spoke up. "Edward, do you want to do anything?"

Ed only shrugged. He sat down on the couch and opened a book, turning to the page where he left off. He read for a while, not noticing a single noise around him as he let all of his attention drift into the worn out pages of the paperback.

It was a while before he felt cold. Confused, Ed looked around and noticed _ice_ lining the very corner of the room, growing larger every passing second. His heart skipped a beat as he stared at the all too familiar ice that slowly crept towards him.

"Hello, I had a feeling I'd find you here," a familiar voice ran out through the room. "Now, if you'd be so kind as to come with me I'd let this young lady live."

That was when Daniel Tucker walked into the room, his dagger at Hawkeye's throat. The Lieutenant's gun wasn't strapped to her side like it usually was, rendering the skilled sniper useless.

Daniel grinned playfully and pushed the steel dagger against the flesh on her neck. "So, what'll it be?"

Ed hesitated. He couldn't let Daniel kill Hawkeye but at the same time he didn't want to go with him. He panicked, his terrified golden gaze darting from Daniel to Hawkeye.

"Don't do it Edward," Hawkeye said calmly. Ed gaze became locked solely on Hawkeye. Their eyes met, gold on brown. "It's okay. I promised the Colonel I would protect you with my life. I'm _not_ going to break my promise."

Ed was amazed that even in her situation she sounded so brave, so full of confidence. Ed shook his head roughly from side to side. "I-I'm not letting you die when there's something that I can do."

Ed looked away from Hawkeye. "I'm not letting you end up like Nina."

There was a long malevolent laugh and Ed looked up to see Daniel wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "You're too funny."

"What the hell do you mean?" Ed growled.

Daniel held back his laughter and looked at Ed with his cold, icy blue eyes. "You're talking about my son's 'best' Chimera he's ever made." Daniel laughed. "It was a failure compared to you."

"Sh-shut up!" Ed yelled. That's when he snapped. He jumped at Daniel and punched at him with his metal fist. Unfortunately Daniel easily dodged the clumsy swing and Ed's fist only met empty air.

"You have to do better than that." Daniel kicked out and his foot hit Ed in his side. The young Alchemist fell to the ground but quickly regained himself and stood back up, ready for the fight he knew was coming.

"Edward, you don't have to do this," Hawkeye told him. "Get away from here."

"No." Ed clenched his fists that trembled from anger and terror. "I've already told you I'm not abandoning anyone." Ed looked up from the ground and up at Hawkeye, his golden eyes shining from tears. "I'm not leaving you."

"You've got nerves." Daniel pressed the dagger closer to Hawkeye's throat. "So, you made up your mind?"

Ed looked away from Hawkeye. He didn't want to see the disappointed look on her face when she heard Ed's decision. "Let Hawkeye go. Take me instead."

Daniel smiled. "Correct." But that's when he sliced the dagger through the bare flesh on Hawkeye's neck. The Lieutenant fell to the ground, blood seeping from the deep gash on her neck. Daniel grinned. "Oops, I slipped."

Ed glared at Daniel with loosely concealed rage. "You bastard!" Ed transmuted his automail into it's signature blade and lunged at the man, his fury and rage propelling him forward without a singe fear for his own life. Daniel stood ready and easily swatted the small boy aside with a simple swing of his arm.

Ed slammed into a wall and immediately ran to attack again. He swung his arm and the steel blade grazed the flesh on Daniel's hand. Daniel turned to Ed and raised his hand, the Transmutation Circle glowing an icy blue.

A blast of ice shot out at Ed. The blond Alchemist jumped out of the way before he was hit. Daniel changed the way he attacked. The Transmutation Circle grew a dark shade of blue and several razor sharp icicles shot out at Ed. This time he wasn't so lucky and was hit with them. One of them dug into his arm and caused blood to splatter onto the ground. Ed pulled it out easily and tossed it to the ground, his injury nothing compared to Hawkeye's.

Hawkeye was still on the ground, one of her hands clutching onto the wound in her neck as the blood gradually seeped out of the gaping wound and onto ground. Ed was relieved when he saw her hand move, at least she was alive.

Ed turned to Daniel and narrowed his eyes, trying to find an opening. There. His feet were in a position that if Ed were to hit one of them he would lose his balance. Ed dashed forward as quickly as he could and slid on the ground knocking one of Daniels legs from beneath him.

Daniel didn't fall, he didn't even move. He kept his balance and stood up straight. "Nice try my lovely Chimera. You have to do better than that."

"Shut the hell up!" Ed shouted. Daniel didn't have the right to do that to Hawkeye, she could be dead for all he knew. Ed felt his anger pulsing through his body. "You bastard. I'm going to kill you!"

Ed pushed out his arm, his blade aimed to pierce through the mans stomach, but the plan failed miserably. In fact, the plan was the exact opposite of what Ed had originally planned. Instead of the blade hitting Daniel, Edward was stabbed in the stomach with one of Daniels concealed daggers.

Daniel pulled the blade from the young boys stomach and let him crumple to the floor. Ed's hand reached instinctively to grab his wound. Blood seeped through his fingers and onto the cold floor. His vision steadily grew darker and he struggled to stay conscious. His eyes wandered to Hawkeye and was glad that she was safe. He eventually gave up on the fight and plunged into the unpenetrable darkness, knowing that at lease he didn't let Hawkeye's fate become the same as Nina's. She was still safe and Ed allowed the darkness to wash over him without a fight.


	12. Chapter 12

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 12**_

It was cold. Ed shivered slightly as the freezing surface beneath him sank deep into his skin. After a moment his groggy mind cleared and he forced his eyes open.

The room was unfamiliar and dark. He saw a thin strip of light that shone beneath the crack of a door. Ed sat up and his stomach exploded in pain. He immediately grabbed hold of it with his hand. That was when he noticed his entire midsection was wrapped in a thick layer of white bandages. Through the darkness, Ed saw a bright crimson color seeping through the tightly wrapped bandages.

Ed groaned. He struggled to remember why he was there. He looked around and nothing looked familiar. Footsteps could be heard, with every passing second the footsteps grew louder until they stopped altogether.

Ed heard jingling keys and the click of something unlocking. The door was swung opened and bright light spilled into the room, chasing the darkness so it was forced to take refuge in the farthest corners of the room.

Ed squinted against the light that blinded him. He saw the familiar silhouette and felt his heart sink. There, standing outlined against the light, was Daniel Tucker wearing his usual cruel smile.

"I see you're finally awake," he said. Daniel took a step into the room and shut the door, allowing the shadows to take their back their spot and chase away the light.

"Shut up." Ed winced as a sharp pain exploded in his stomach.

Daniel walked closer to him and looked directly at him, turning on a light. "Hmm, looks like your wound reopened."

"Shut the fuck up," Ed growled through clenched teeth. His hand held his bleeding stomach tightly, but doing so only made the pain worse.

"Hmm, I guess well just have to do the experiments before you bleed to death." Daniel was silent for a moment. He turned off the light and straightened up. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Daniel left the room and locked the door behind him.

Ed sat up and noticed that he still had both automail limbs. He took a deep breath and tried to transmute something, but it didn't work. Ed looked at his hands in confusion. _What the hell?_ He tried again and again to transmute but it didn't work at all.

He looked around for a way to escape but saw nothing that he could use. "Damn it," He muttered to himself.

The door opened and Daniel walked back into the room. He was followed by another man with rippling muscles. Ed felt nervous just looking at his. The man looked like he could snap him in half with his index finger and thumb.

"Looks like we can begin." Daniel and the man walked to the edge of the room, leaving Ed alone in the center. This reminded Ed of a certain memory, a memory he would rather forget. That's when it all happened again.

The floor began to glow dimly until the entire room was bathed in a deep purple. A horrible realization occurred to him and he knew that they were doing it again. He was being turned back into a Chimera.

"No! Stop!" Ed shouted. "Don-"

He stopped in mid scream as he felt unbearable pain erupt in his entire body. Pain tore at his skin and clawed at him. Ed shut his eyes tight and screamed, the pain becoming more than he could handle. After what felt like hours, the pain began to fade until it was no more than a dull throbbing. Ed sat up, thinking it was over. Boy was he wrong.

* * *

"Where's Fullmetal?" Roy demanded, once again, to Hawkeye.

The Lieutenant only looked sadly at Roy and shook her head. "I'm sorry Colonel. There was nothing I could do."

The two of them were standing in Roy's office. Hawkeye was standing in front of his desk, her hands stiff by her side and her neck wrapped in bandages. Roy sat down heavily in his chair and a hand in his hair. _How could that bastard take Ed again?_ Roy thought. _I_ ' _ll_ kill _him if I get my hands on him._

"I'm sorry sir," Hawkeye said softly.

"It's not your fault," Roy said with irritation. "You were stabbed in the neck, I would probably have been as useless as you were."

"I know sir." Hawkeye sighed "But It's Ed I'm worried about."

"I know." Roy shut his eyes as he tried to think of a way to find Ed, but nothing came. "Lieutenant, get me a map of Central. Now."

Hawkeye saluted. "Yes sir." She walked out of the office, leaving Roy alone. His only company was the great guilt that was weighing him down. "I'll get you back," Roy whispered to himself, knowing no one else could hear him "I promise you that, Ed."

* * *

Ed knew he was going to die. It was only a matter of time before his body had enough of the experiments and failed. It was the third experiment that day and Ed was in terrible pain, barley able to move. His hand held his bleeding stomach weakly and his head spun. His breathing was pathetic and his eyes were a dull gold and half closed.

It was the fourth time Daniel walked in that day and Ed knew what was coming.

"Get ready my lovely Chimera," He said innocently. "Were almost done for the day."

Ed didn't move. He shut his eyes and stayed still. It's not like he _could_ move. His body hurt so bad that he could barley manage to lift his arm off the floor where he lay.

Daniel jabbed him in the ribs and Ed's eyes opened until they were two slits. He didn't say anything. He doubting he could say anything louder than a slight whisper. He saw Daniel walk towards the edge of the room and Ed braced himself.

He took in a deep breath and then the pain started. Terrible, agonizing pain that tore through him worse than every previous experiment has been. He was in and out of consciousness the entire time. He used the last of his strength to survive, to stay alive long enough to have any hope at all to escape, although that seemed very unlikely at the moment.

The glow finally died down but the pain lingered still. Daniel walked over and beamed down at him. "Step four complete," he announced. "Congratulations my lovely Chimera. You're the first to make it this far."

"Sh-shut up," Ed growled through clenched teeth. He took in a ragged breath and released it slowly, his chest aching with every struggled breath.

Daniel frowned. "Why are you so rude. You should be glad. You're on a whole new level of human."

"I don't care." Each word was terribly painful and hurt his chest.

Daniel stood up and walked towards the door. He turned back before exiting and said, "Tomorrow we start step five. Prepare yourself. It'll be the hardest yet." He locked the door and left Ed alone again in the darkness on the cold stone floor.

* * *

Roy stared intensely at the map that was spread out in his desk. His eyes darted back and forth, looking for something that would give him a clue as to where Ed was. When he couldn't find anything he banged his fist against he desk. "Why is it so damn hard," He growled.

"Sir, maybe he's not even in Central?" Hawkeye suggested.

Roy shook his head sharply. "That can't be. I've contacted every train station leaving Central and none of them saw Daniel or Ed."

"Colonel, maybe he didn't take a train?"

Roy looked up. "What do you mean by that?"

"Daniel might have found a different way out of Central that doesn't involve taking a trains"

Roy stood up. "Lieutenant, gather a team and tell them to investigate the East, West, South, and North."

Hawkeye saluted. "Yes sir." She left without another word to gather a team to find Ed.

As for Roy, he continued to stare at the map spread out on his desk. There was something missing. Something that led right to where Ed was. His eyes stopped on a small area on the page. The map beneath his desk, the part that overlapped, circled one specific area.

"I'm coming Ed."

* * *

Ed wished he would die so he didn't have to experience any more pain. He wished the experiments were over but he knew better than to believe in false hope. Three days. Three days of agonizing torture and unnecessary pain. Ed's tail was back, so were his whiskers and fangs. Everything that he got removed had been replaced painfully back.

Ed lay on the floor, his vision constantly a blur from the blood that he lost every now and then. He couldn't move anymore. No matter how much he tried he couldn't move a single inch. His body was weak, he was low on food and felt as though he were dying of hunger, thirst, and pain.

Since he arrived he's had not a single crumb of food or drop of water. His throat was horribly dry and his stomach growled painfully with hunger. He didn't want to die, but if he did maybe just maybe, he could get away from all this pain. However, he doubted that he had that kind of luck.

Ed closed his eyes and lay there. He felt a small tear fall down his face but he couldn't wipe it away. He couldn't stand it anymore. He was a fool, letting himself being caught _again_ by the same insane alchemist.

A shiver ran up his spine and another tear fell down his face, followed by another, and another. Ed looked in the direction of the door, wishing that someone would walk in and rescue him.

* * *

Roy stood up abruptly, startling Hawkeye, who sat at a table looking to find out where Ed might be. "Lieutenant, I've found Ed. I know where he is."

"You do?" Hawkeye asked. "Where is he?"

Roy stared hard at Hawkeye. "He's underground beneath the prison."

"Do you want me to come, sir?"

"Yes. Don't tell anyone where we're going."

"Yes sir." Hawkeye saluted.

Roy threw on his coat and walked quickly to the door and dawn the hall. His ignition gloves were in his pocket, this time he wasn't going to go easy on the place.

As Hawkeye drove Roy stared out the window. He was prepared to fight and prepared to kill. He's known for a long time that he would do anything to protect Edward, and would even kill to do so. Hawkeye finally pulled up to the prison and Roy immediately got out of the car and walked around. He stopped, felling suddenly colder in that one spot.

 _This is it. This is where Fullmetal is._ Roy took in a deep breath and thought for a minute. He wasn't good at any Alchemy other than his Flame Alchemy, but he had to try. Ry quickly but carefully drew a transmutation circle in the loose dirt and placed his hands on the edge. Blue transmutation sparks traveled along the ground and soon enough there was a deep hole that stretched down for a long while.

"Lieutenant, I'm going down there. You stay here." Roy walked to the edge of the hold.

"Yes sir." Hawkeye saluted. "Please be careful."

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Roy then jumped and went sliding down into the hole.

* * *

Ed thought he heard footsteps, or perhaps he was only imagining it. Daniel never came this time of night. Sure enough, Daniel Tucker walked into the room and shut it again.

"Time for step five." He walked towards the edge of the room and stood there.

When the pain started Ed couldn't help but scream. It seared his body, sucked all the breath from his lungs. His just recently closed wound on his stomach reopened and blood seeped through the already soaked bandages and onto the floor. Ed's strength faded rapidly, his vision growing darker, but he forced himself to stay conscious. He relaxed his body and let the pain come. He knew there was nothing he could do to stop it so he just let it come.

Pained tears flowed down his face as he grew more weak from the pain. Finally, holding onto the last thin string that connected him to the world, the door opened and light spilled into the dark room, bathing Ed in a brilliant golden light and chasing away the darkness and the Transmutation sparks.

There, standing with the light reflecting off him, was Colonel Roy Mustang. The Flame Alchemist raised his hand. "Hand Edward over to me, or I'll turn you into a pile of ashes."


	13. Chapter 13

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 13**_

Daniel stopped transmuting and turned to face Roy. He clapped his hands in congratulations. "Great job Colonel. I guess you've found this place after all."

"Shut the hell up," Roy growled. "I'm not joking when I said I'll turn you into a pile of ashes."

"Oh, I'm so scared," Daniel said sarcastically. He grinned. "I would be careful what you say to me. I still have your precious Alchemist with me."

Roy looked over in Ed's direction. The boy was lying motionless on the ground. Blood stained the white bandages that wrapped around his body and his eyes were half closed, giving him the impression that he was dead. Roy thought he _was_ dead until he saw the small boy blink and direct his dull gaze to look straight at Roy

Roy turned back to Daniel and narrowed his eyes. "I won't let you lay a hand on him. I'll kill you if you even try."

Daniel pouted. "Why are you always ruining my fun?"

"Your fun?" Roy shouted. It took all of his will power to not burn Daniel right then and there. "Is that all this is? A game? Ed's half _dead_ because of you. You call that a _game_?"

Daniel stared at Roy with eyed that danced with false playfulness. "Don't you see. He's almost a full chimera. One more step and my mission is complete."

"I don't care about your damn mission!" Roy felt uncontrollable anger telling him what do do, telling him to kill Daniel. But something held him back. He didn't know what, but he knew he would regret it if he did. "Give Ed to me."

Daniel smiled. "Beat me, you get him. Deal?"

"I'm not making a deal with a damn bastard like you!" Roy snapped his fingers and the air beside Daniel's head exploded in a blast of heat and flames hot enough to melt glass. Daniel simply dodged it as easily as you would dodge the swing of a toddler.

"You've go to do better than that if you want to beat me." Daniel raised his arm and the Transmutation Circle on his hand began to glow. "Let me demonstrate my true power." Daniel's ring began to glow blindingly bright and the biggest blast of ice shot out at Roy.

He barley dodged it. He snapped his fingers countless times, creating just as many explosions. Finally, as the fight reached it's climax, Daniel was hit. He stumbled back, a small shattering sound could be heard and Roy's eyes widened when he saw the ring, the Philosopher's Stone, shatter into countless pieces.

Daniel looked just as shocked as he watched the last of the dust of the former stone blow away beyond reach. He turned at Roy and shot one last beam of ice before creating a thick fog and disappearing from the room.

"Edward!" Roy shouted. The fog started to dissipate and Roy saw Ed still lying on the ground. The Colonel ran over to the small boy and knelt down beside him. "Edward."

"C-colonel?" Ed opened his eyes slowly and looked up at Roy. Tears began to form in the corners of his dull golden eyes. Roy held the frail boy closer to him.

"It's okay Ed," He said gently. Ed's bloody had grabbed Roy's shirt and squeezed as tightly as he could with his shaking hands.

"I. Colonel." A tear fell down Ed's pale face. "I was scared." Another tear fell down and hit Roy's coat. Roy felt bad for Ed. He never cried, he always tried to act so brave but whatever happened to him must have been horrible if it made him like this.

"It's okay," he said gently. You're safe."

Ed's head fell against Roy's chest and his eyes closed. Roy thought that he died but saw his chest moving up and down unsteadily and let out the breath he'd been holding. Ed was safe and he was never going to let anything happen to him if there was a chance for Roy to protect him.

* * *

The next time he woke up he was lying on a soft surface. The pain in his stomach was just a dull throb and his mind was more clear. He decided to open his eyes and saw that he was lying in a small room with hardly any light. He was lying in a bed with a thin blanket pulled up to his shoulders. Ed groaned and moved his hand up to his pounding head.

He noticed that his face felt unusually warm. Ed shut his eyes again and rolled over but the sudden movement caused the dull throb in his stomach became agonizingly painful. Ed's hand subconsciously held the wound in hopes that doing so would dampen the pain.

There was a soft creaking sound and light spilled into the room. Ed snapped his eyes shut as the sudden brightness flooded his vision. Footsteps echoed across the floor and stopped abruptly. Ed stayed as still as he can. He didn't know who was in the room or what they were doing. Ed felt his fear rising and his heart beat loudly in his chest.

"Is this the boy?" A voice asked.

"Yes. He came this evening battered and covered in blood," another voice replied. This voice sounded old.

"Will he live?"

"I suppose so. His condition appears to be stable I don't see why he would die."

"When he wakes up can you give him this?"

"Got it."

Ed heard the sound of shuffling papers and then the room was silent again. Footsteps hit the floor with muffled thumps and the door shut again, the light being replaced with darkness.

Ed listened for a minute before opening his eyes. The silvery wisp of the moonlight shone through a window and illuminated the room slightly. The room was empty except for him and the room was silent except for his soft breathing.

Ed yawned. He felt sleep trying to force it's way to him but he struggled to fight it. He didn't want to sleep, he needed to know who those people were. Before he could think anymore he yawned again and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Ed woke up again to pounding pain. His head pounded and his side felt as though it were on fire. He groaned and held his stomach.

"Edward, are you awake?" A familiar voice asked him.

Ed forced his tired eyes open and saw Roy Mustang sitting in a chair beside him. The Colonel looked as though he hadn't slept in days. His hair was messed up and his clothes were dirty. "Colonel, where are we?"

"The hospital," Roy replied simply.

Ed looked around and noticed the white walls and the horrible stench that hung in the air. He sighed. "I hate hospitals."

"You should be lucky there _are_ hospitals. I there weren't you would've been dead." The tone in Roy's voice was dark and it caused a shiver to run down his spine.

Ed was silent. He tried to sit up but his stomach exploded in pain and he swore before falling down into the bed. His winced as his hand held the wound tightly, only causing more pain.

"Are you okay? Where does it hurt?" Roy asked quickly. He sounded quite nervous as he spoke.

Ed removed his hand from his stomach and made an attempt at a smile. "I'm fine. The pain's not too bad." He lied, his stomach hurt like hell.

"Are you sure?" Roy asked.

Ed nodded. "I'm fine. Just tired, that's all."

Roy didn't look like he believed him but he sat back down in his chair and looked at Ed. "Fullmetal, don't lie to me. What exactly did Daniel do to you?"

Ed looked away. He didn't want to remember what happened when he was captured. He wanted to erase it from his mind. But he doubted that he could. Ed looked over at Roy. "He tried to turn me back into a Chimera."

Roy nodded. "Did you eat or drink anything when you were there?"

Ed shook his head. For some reason he didn't feel hungry or thirsty at the moment. He decided to push that thought aside. "Is there anything else you want to ask me?"

Roy nodded. "Why did you let Daniel take you?"

Ed tried to avoid Roy's eyes. "I-I couldn't let him kill Hawkeye. He had a knife at her neck and I." He paused and looked down at the white bed sheets. "I couldn't watched anyone I care about die if there was something I could do to save them."

Roy stared at Ed for a moment before sighing and leaning back in his chair. "Next time don't be so reckless."

"I wasn't reckless," Ed protested.

There was a knock on the door and Ed turned and saw an older man with round glasses standing at the door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Roy said

The man nodded and walked into the room and over to Ed. "Good to see you awake."

The voice sounded familiar somehow. He tried to remember where he's seen that man before but he couldn't figure out where. The _man_ didn't look familiar, _his_ voice did. The memory of it was tugging at his consciousness trying to escape. "Have we met before?" Well, It was worth a shot to ask.

The man shook his head. "No, I don't think you'd remember."

Then it hit him. "You were here last night weren't you?"

"You're sadly mistaken," The man said with a frown. "Perhaps you were seeing things. You have lost quite a bit of blood."

Ed suspicions were only growing with every word the man said. "How did you know I lost a lot of blood?"

The man hesitated before replying. "I have something for you."

"You changed the subject," Ed muttered half to himself.

"Aha, here it is." The man pulled out a handful of papers out of his pocket and handed them to Ed. "A friend of mine told me to give these to you." The man stood up. "I should be going now. I'll see you soon."

He left before Ed had a chance to ask any more questions. He looked at the stack of papers in his hands. Most of them looked worn out and old, every sheet was covered in writing. Ed looked through them and felt his confusion rising.

 _This doesn't make any sense. Why did he give me these in the first place?_ Ed read through each sheet carefully but nothing made sense. It was hard to process much of what was written on the papers. He yawned but kept reading. Soon Roy pulled them out of Ed's hands, much to the blond's annoyance.

"You should be resting, not reading," Roy told him strictly.

"I'm perfectly fine," Ed protested. "I don't need to rest."

Roy let out an impatient huff and looked Ed directly in his eyes. "You were stabbed in the stomach and close to death when I found you. I suggest you rest, your body needs to take it easy for a while."

"Maybe I don't wanna," Ed insisted. He didn't want the Colonel to tell him what to do. He didn't need rest, all he wanted to do was to find out what the notes meant. "Give me the paper now."

Roy shoved the notes into his pocket. "Rest." He stood up. "Maybe after you do that I'll give them to you."

How badly Ed wanted to Transmute the damn Colonel couldn't be put on a simple scale. "You damn bastard. I feel fine."

"Then no notes."

Ed stared at the colonel with hate filled eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Just get some damn rest or I'll get a nurse to force you to do it." Roy smiled coldly. "You like needles?"

Ed's face paled at the word 'needles'. "Fine, I'll rest." Ed gave the Colonel a long hard cold stare before turning away from him and lying in the bed.

Roy smiled slightly and sat back down in the chair. Ed began to feel suddenly tired and before he knew it had drifted off into a restless sleep.

* * *

Ed woke up groggy and tired. His mind was foggy and he couldn't think straight. He sat up and yawned. He was finally going to get out of there today and he waited impatiently for Roy to hurry up and get him. The door finally creaked open and Roy walked in, along with two men, both appeared to be doctors.

"Oh, you're awake?" Roy asked a bit surprised.

"Who are they?" Ed pointed at the men behind Roy.

"They're doctors, one's an Alchemist."

"Colonel Mustang, can we do what we came here for?" The shorter one, who was still taller than Ed, asked.

"Go ahead."

The man walked forward and began to look closely at Ed. He looked around him for several long minutes before straightening up. "He's fine. I don't see why he won't survive."

"Survive? Why won't I survive?" Ed asked.

"Let me explain." The taller man took a step forward. "I've found a way to reverse the experiments that were done to you. It would be painful but I guarantee that it'll work."

"I'm confused?" Ed looked at Roy and then back at the man. "But I'll do it if I can get this damn tail off me."

"Great, we'll do it whenever you're ready."

"I'm ready now." Ed looked straight at him with a determined look in his golden eyes.

"Okay, I guess we can get started." The young doctor turned to look at Roy and the other doctor. "Could you two please step out into the hall?"

Roy nodded and both him and the doctor left.

Once the door was closed the man tuned to look at Ed. "You ready?"

Ed nodded with a new found determination that had been lost until then. The man pulled on two gloves with a Transmutation embroidered on each palm. He placed his palms together and placed them on the bed a bit away from where Ed was sitting.

A large transmutation glowed a brilliant golden yellow beneath him. Ed was amazed until the pain hit. His head felt like it was being ripped open and shattering into a million pieces. The pain only increased until Ed was sure he was going to die. He fell onto his side, breathing hard. The pain only grew until his vision swam before his eyes.

It was like that for several minutes before he saw the glowing circle beginning to fade but the pain stayed.

"Congratulations, you survived," he announced.

Ed pushed himself up into a sitting position with shaky arms and looked at the man tiredly. "What do you mean?"

"Not everyone survives."

Ed heard someone walk into the room and looked over at the door. Roy and the doctor walked in and immediately the Colonel ran over to him. "Ed, are you hurting? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Ed managed a forced smile. "Just a bit tired, that's all."

"He's fine to go," the doctor informed. "If Colonel Roy Mustang signs a few papers Mr. Elric can leave the hospital."

"Hurry up and sign those papers," Ed ordered. "I wanna get out of here soon."

"If I don't sign them now Ed won't let me live it down." Roy followed the doctor out of the room and the man left as well, leaving Ed alone without anyone to reach him if anything happened.

It was that moment when Ed began to wish that he was still a chimera.


	14. Chapter 14

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 14**_

Ed sat silently waiting for Roy to return when it felt like the room suddenly dropped 10 degrees and he felt terribly cold. He looked around with wide eyes but saw nothing but white walls. In a single moment there was a barley audible yet clear crisp voice whispering just loud enough to hear above the blowing trees.

" _You shouldn't have done that. You should still be my Chimera."_

Ed looked around wildly but neither heard nor saw anything else after that. It was several more minutes before Roy walked back into the room and looked at Ed.

"Ed, were going."

Ed shook his head roughly to clear it and rose shakily to his feet and followed Roy out of the doors and to his car.

Ed couldn't stop feeling nervous. Daniel was still after him and he knew for sure that he wouldn't stop until Ed was a successful Chimera. He came close last time and must be furious. He sat down in the car and stared out the window as Roy drove down the street.

The car ride was silent and Ed stared out the window with eyes that were blank and staring off at nothing in particular. By the time Roy got to his place Ed's tension could easily be seen.

"Are you okay?" Roy asked.

Ed nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Ed nodded. He wasn't asked again after that but Ed could still tell that Roy was still worried about him. They walked into the house and Ed sat down on the couch in the living room. Roy sat down in the chair across from him.

"I know something's wrong, now tell me."

Ed looked down at the floor and took in a nervous breath. "Please don't make fun of me."

"I promise I won't make fun of you."

Ed looked up and released his breath slowly. "I'm scared. I don't know when Daniel might attack me next and I'm scared for when he does."

Roy stood up and sat down beside him. "I promise you that he won't take you again. I'm willing to risk my life to prevent that from happening."

Ed nodded but didn't look up from the floor. Roy wrapped an arm around his back as if to reassure him. Ed didn't push him away like he would normally do and let Roy do as he pleased.

"I won't let anything happen to you." Ed looked up at Roy and saw the promise shining in his eyes. He looked so brave, wiling to die for him, and Ed was acting so weak. However, he couldn't help but feel that way.

* * *

During dinner that evening Ed heard the voice again. The faint whisper hat was just loud enough to hear above the other sounds. But unlike the previous whisper, this one sounded more like a threat.

" _I will get you my Chimera. You can count on that."_

Ed froze and felt his anxiety overwhelming him. Daniel was going to get him and he didn't know when. Roy shook his shoulder.

"Ed, what's wrong?"

"It's just." Ed paused. How could he tell Mustang that he was hearing Daniels voice without him thinking he was going crazy "I've been hearing Daniel's voice echoing around the room."

Roy stared at Ed in surprise before standing up and walking over to him. "What exactly did he say?"

"He said 'I will get you my Chimera. You can count on it' and then the voice was gone?" Ed repeated nervously.

Roy stood up and sighed with irritation. "Ed, when did you first begin to hear this and how any times have you heard it?"

"Two times. Once in the hospitable before we left and one just now." Ed let out a slow breath and looked at Roy as he began to pace back and forth.

"Edward, let me know _immediately_ next time you hear it. You understand?" Roy asked, his voie serious.

Ed nodded. He felt himself begin to feel more nervous as each minute passed. He only wish was that Daniel would be caught and he wouldn't have to sit in terror, wondering if he was going to get taken again.

* * *

Ed didn't hear the voice for the rest of the evening. But a chill ran down his spine instead and Ed stiffened, alerting Roy almost instantly.

"Did you hear it again?"

Ed shook his head. "No, it's just cold."

"What do you mean? It's not cold."

" _You're destined to die by the hands of me. Prepare for your life to end my lovely Chimera."_

Ed leaded over. "It happened again. The voice. I can't take any more of this."

"Ed, look at me," Roy snapped softly. Ed looked up at him and he continued. "You can't give up. We _will_ find a way to bring Daniel to justice so he can't harm you again."

Ed nodded. Somehow Roy's words really hit him. Inspiring in to keep on living and make Daniel pay for what he's done.

"You're right. I'm going to bring him down. I'm not going to get taken again and I won't sacrifice myself to save anyone." Ed's eyes shone with a whole new fiery determination that showed that his mind couldn't be changed.

* * *

"Ed, wake up."

Ed opened one bleary eye and saw Roy looking down at him. He groaned and pulled the blanket over his head. He was so tired, having stayed up all night last night and only getting to sleep around five am.

"Ed, we have to go."

"Shut up. I'm tired." Ed tried to pull the blanket back over his head but Roy yanked it away completely. "Give it back!"

"Get out of bed," Roy ordered.

Ed stood up and yawned loudly before lazily following Roy out of the room. He walked down the stairs since he was still half asleep he fell down the last few steps and landed on his face on the ground.

He stood up quickly and kept walking. Ed soon found himself by the front door for some reason. "Where are you going?"

"HQ."

"Do we have to? It's still early," Ed complained.

"It's already one in the afternoon. You've slept the whole day away."

Ed groaned. Roy tossed him his coat. "We're leaving now."

Ed put on his red coat and quickly tied his hair into a loose ponytail. He yawned and sat in the car. As Roy drove his head rested against the cold glass window. He yawned again and found himself drifting off to sleep.

It was only a few minutes before Ed was rudely awakened by someone shaking his shoulder. Ed blinked a few times to clear his blurred vision and saw Roy sitting in the seat next to him.

"We're here." Roy got out of the car and Ed followed more slowly. He yawned again and walked slowly to the doors of Central HQ, his feet dragging lazily on the ground.

By the time they reached Roy's office Ed was awake and was pretty sure that he wasn't going to fall asleep. Roy walked over to his desk and was immediately absorbed in his paperwork. Ed walked over and got his attention by hitting the wooden surface a few times with his metal fist.

Roy sighed. What do you want Fullmetal?"

"Can I look through your files?"

"Whatever, just don't mess it all up." He pointed to a filing cabinet leaning against one wall.

Ed walked over to the filing cabinet and opened the drawer second from the top. He couldn't reach the top one. After a few minutes of looking he shut the drawer and opened the one beneath. He finally found what he was looking for and pulled out Daniel Tucker's information out of the files. He walked over to the couch and began to read the file carefully.

He read it over several dozen times until the entire thing was memorized word for word. By that time it was only two and he had nothing to do. He spent about fifteen minutes staring at the clock and another ten minutes pacing the length of the room. He transmuted a pile pf paper planes and tossed them across the room. At one point he accidentally hit Roy in the head with one and that was why Ed began to toss ashes out the window.

By then it was three and Roy was going to be there for about two more hours. He wanted to go to his dorm but the damn Colonel already refused to let him wander the halls alone.

Ed sighed and sat down on the couch and decided to have a staring contest with the wall. The end result was he almost punched a hole through the wall.

Roy's door creaked open and Hawkeye and Black Hayate walked into the room. The dog took one look at Ed and ran over, jumping on top of him and knocking him to the ground. He began to lick his face rapidly and his black tail shook like crazy.

"Hayate, get off of him," Hawkeye scolded.

Hayate got off of him but before he walked away he yanked Ed's pocket watch out of his pocket and ran off.

"Hey, give it back!" Ed shouted. He began to chase Black Hayate around the office but failed to catch the dog. He chased the black and white mutt until he finally managed to grab his tail and pull him to the ground where he and the dog had a tug of war battle with the pocket watch. Ed finally won and stood up.

"Don't steal my stuff again. Got it?" He pointed threateningly at the black and white mutt.

Hayate barked and walked over to Hawkeye's side. Ed shoved the silver pocket watch back into his pocket and shot the dog a glare before turning to Roy.

"Colonel, Do you remember when I was in the hospitable and that man gave me those papers?"

Roy nodded. "Yeah, why do you want them?"

"I think I know why Daniel was after me in the first place." Ed clenched his fists. "He's planning something and _I_ will be the one to put a stop to it."

"Fullmetal, I've already told you that you can't go after Daniel alone." Roy sighed and looked at him. "He's turned you into a Chimera twice now. You're finally back to normal and you want to risk everything again?"

"I don't care what the risk is," Ed growled. "I know he's planning something. You can't stop me from finding out what it is."

Ed and Roy stared hard at each other before Ed had enough of it all and turned around. He stormed out of the office and slammed the door shut. He walked down the hallway and out of Central HQ. He allowed a grin to spread out on his face. What the Colonel didn't know was that before he felt he snatched the notes right off the desk. He felt in his pocket and felt the lump that showed that the papers were there.

He looked around. He hadn't thought about where he was going to go after he got the notes. He began to walk away from HQ and tried to think of where to go.

 _I could go to Dublith, no Izumi would kill me. Resembool, North City, the East. Where the hell am I going to go?_ Ed was so absorbed in his thought that he didn't realize where he was walking until he collided with a person.

"Sorry" Ed mumbled awkwardly. He walked away from the person but someone grabbed his shoulder. Ed turned around and saw the man staring closely at him.

"Are you Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist?" He asked

Ed became suspicious but nodded his head dumbly. "Uh, yeah, why?"

"Sorry about this." The man balled his hand into a fist and brought it down on Ed's head. The world spun for a moment before he crumbled to the ground, surrounded in darkness.

* * *

Ed groaned. His head pounded and he wondered why it hurt this bad until he remembered suddenly. The man in the street hit him in the head and then...Ed didn't want to think about it. He didn't know what happened after he was knocked out and he didn't know where he was.

He finally decided to open his eyes and saw himself surrounded in darkness. For a moment he thought he had gone blind, but that was before there was a soft click and a light illuminated the room. Ed shut his eyes tight as the sudden light flooded his vision.

"Good, you're awake." The man who knocked him out walked over to him and sat down on a small stool beside the old couch he was lying on. "Sorry about knocking you out. Didn't know how I was going to bring you here so knocking you out seemed like the easiest option."

Ed pushed himself into a sitting position and looked at the man with slight confusion in his golden eyes. "Why did you bring me here." Ed rubbed the aching spot on his head. "And you didn't have to hit me that hard."

"You want some tea?" The man asked.

"You changed the subject," Ed said with hidden irritation in his voice.

"Oh, yes. You wanted to know why I brought you here," The man said finally. "You wanted to know about the notes I gave you, didn't you?"

"You gave me the notes?" Ed asked. He didn't remember ever seeing him before, but somehow his voice began to sound slightly familiar.

"You haven't met me, but I've met you," he said as if it made perfect sense.

"What do you mean?" Ed asked, his confusion showing in his voice.

"I was in your hospitable room, you were passed out in your bed so I understand if you don't remember me," he explained.

Ed's eyes widened. "Wait, _you're_ the one who was in my hospital room?"

"So you were awake." He laughed. "Had a feeling you were awake."

The man confused Ed. Maybe he hit him too hard. "Are you going to tell me what the notes mean or aren't you?"

"Oh yes." The man's playful expression melted and was replaced by more serious look. His brown eyes met Ed's. "I don't have much time so listen carefully."

Ed nodded and the man continued.

"I'm Jacob Flint and I use to work for Daniel Tucker. What he's planning will risk the lives of countless people. He's still after you and because you are a human again he will be sure to turn you back into a Chimera. His plan is to-"

The man suddenly fell off his stool and collapsed to the ground. Ed noticed a long knife sticking out of his back and blood pooling around him. Ed heard a malevolent laugh and looked up to see Daniel Tucker standing in the doorway.

"Don't want him to spoil my plans now, do we?" He sneered

* * *

 **A/N...sorry if it too me long to update (I get lazy when it comes to proofreading). I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'd really appreciate any reviews, they inspire me to write more and post chapters faster.**


	15. Chapter 15

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 15**_

Ed just stared at Daniel for a long moment. How could he do something so horrible? He barged in there and killed the man without any hesitation of any kind. And on top of that he looked rather pleased with himself.

"You bastard!" Ed shouted. His anger was taking control of him now. He couldn't stop himself. He transmuted his automail into its signature blade and charged straight for Daniel. He wasn't concerned for his own safety at the moment, his only goal in mind was to end Daniel right then and there.

Daniel easily blocked the clumsy attack and stood there and stared at Ed with his icy blue eyes He didn't do anything to attack, not a single movement to warn Ed that he was going to strike. Ed realized too late that doing so was his plan all along.

While Ed's guard was lowered he struck. Ed barley dodged the attack. He jumped backwards and tumbled over the couch and hit the floor with a bang.

"Damn it," he muttered. He clambered to his feet and ran over to Daniel. He wanted to end the fight quickly but it didn't appear like it was going to happen anytime soon. Daniel was prepared for every one of Ed's attacks. He pushed and blocked, dodged and fought back.

Daniel fought not with Alchemy but with his single dagger. The older man appeared to have the upper hand in the battle. His movements were precise and skilled. On the other hand, Ed's were sloppy and driven only by anger and resentment towards the man.

Daniel swung out his dagger and it collided hard with Ed's side. The blond stumbled back and felt warm blood seeping through his shirt. His flesh hand gripped the wound and glared at Daniel, who appeared to be quite pleased with himself.

"Looks like this fight will be over soon." He looked at Ed, his usual playful look had been discarded and all that was left were eyes that were as cold as ice.

"You damn bastard," Ed growled. Without hesitation he ran at Daniel and swung his arm. The tip of his blade grazed the side of Daniel's face and the man turned to look at Ed in hate.

"You have some nerve kid," He growled. Daniel charged. His speed was incredibly fast and Ed had a hard time dodging each attack as it came. Each swing of the dagger forceful and slashed the air dangerously close to Ed.

Ed dodged each swing. He was unable to find an opening to strike and if he let his guard down Daniel would notice and strike hard and fast. Ed dodged another swing and tripped over something on the floor and fell onto his back.

Daniel brought the dagger down and Ed was only alive because he rolled out of the way without a second to spare and dodged the direct attack. The fight continued. Each minute they were at it Ed grew exhausted. He was breathing hard and covered in bloody scratches from every time the dagger sliced through his flesh.

He could feel the fight sapping his energy every time he narrowly avoided death. Daniel was pushing him further and further and Ed didn't know how much longer he could last. The wound on his side was beginning irritate him and blood continued to slowly seep through his clothes.

He had to end it quickly. He couldn't let him be beaten by that bastard. He ran. He ran and transmuted a spear out of the wooden ground. Yeah, it wasn't the strongest thing he could transmute but he was desperate. He used his new spear and charged headlong at Daniel with every bit of fear vanishing.

He thrust out the spear but Daniel simply dodged it and ran at Ed. Ed himself was shocked when Daniel only kicked him onto the wall before running from the room and out of the house.

Ed stared in shock for a few moments before feeling the exhaustion kicked in. He was out of breath and his head spun. He leaned against the wall and sank down to the ground. He tried to process everything that he just saw.

He sat there for several minuted before rising to his feet. He looked around the dusty room and spotted his red coat hanging over the back of a chair. Ed threw it on and felt in the pocket, feeling the lumps that was the notes the man gave him.

Ed remembered the man and his sorrow filled gaze drifted over to the lifeless body on the ground. He turned away quickly and left the house, not wanting to see anymore death, and headed back slowly to HQ.

* * *

By the time Ed walked through the front doors of Central HQ the sun was fully set and he was beginning to regret ever going out in the first place. His side was still bleeding and he headed straight for his dorm in hopes of getting at least _some_ sleep.

He walked into the dark empty room and remembered that Al was still in Resembool. _At least he's safer there than here_ , Ed thought to himself as he shut the door and collapsed into his bed. His eyes closed and he was asleep within seconds.

* * *

 _The place was dark, not a single light illuminated the shadows that encircled Ed as he stood there, gazing straight ahead of him into whatever lay ahead in the darkness. He head whispering words too quiet to make out._

 _Ed took a step forward. He felt himself being pulled towards the darkness, towards whatever lay there. He knew something was there, lying in wait in the shadows. Ed walked forward until he stopped suddenly as a chill ran down his spine._

 _He had a bad feeling, like he shouldn't be there. He had to turn back, leave and never return, but for some reason his feet kept moving forward. He walked further, still, unsure why he was going further into the darkness._

 _He heard the whispering growing louder and saw a person standing there. As he got closer he saw that it was a small boy wearing a coat made out of animal fur and a matching hat. He looked at Ed for a minute with his deep brown eyes before removing his hat to reveal a pair of animal ears._

" _Don't give up of the fight," He said. "Daniel can be defeated. Believe that you can and you will win."_

" _Wait, who are you?" Ed shouted, but the boy was already beginning to fade._

 _The boy laughed. "You'll find out in time. Just remember what I told you and don't give up. Don't bow down to Daniel whatever you do."_

" _Wait, don't go!" Ed shouted, but the boy was already gone._

* * *

Ed woke with a start and looked around his room. He took in a deep breath and released it slowly. He kept turning over what the boy said in his dream. _How am I suppose to defeat Daniel when I can even beat him in a simple fight?_

Ed looked around the room and got out of the bed. He yawned and changed out of his bloodstained clothes.

His side had stopped bleeding but it still ached when he moved. He walked across the room and stopped in front of his bookshelf that was crammed with books. His gaze swept from book to book until it finally stopped one one. He grabbed it and opened it to the first page.

His eyes darted from one page to the other. Finally something caught his eyes and he reread the sentence.

 _What does this mean?_ Ed thought to himself as he read the sentence again. For some reason he couldn't quite wrap his mind around it. He knew it was important yet he couldn't figure out why. He stood up and glanced at the clock.

He grabbed the book off the table and walked out the door.

"Fullmetal, where have you been?" A voice demanded.

Ed recognized the voice immediately and let out a sigh. He turned and saw Roy staring at him with a displeased expression on his face.

"I was in my dorm sleeping. You have a problem with that?" Ed demanded bitterly.

"Where were you last night?" Roy asked again.

"I was at the library."

Roy shook his head roughly from side to side. "I was at the library last night and you were neither there or were seen there that day."

 _Damn it_ , Ed thought. _He knows I'm lying now._

"Tell me the truth." Roy crossed his arms over his chest.

Ed turned sharply and walked down the hall. He was aware of Roy following him and his anger took control. He spun around and pushed Roy against a wall.

"Stop following me you bastard," Ed growled through clenched teeth. "Get the hell away from me."

Roy pushed Ed away and grabbed the younger Alchemist by the collar of his shirt and looked him closely in the eye. "I'm your superior officer. Don't give me orders."

"Like I care what you think," Ed muttered. He should learn to keep his mouth shut.

Roy pushed him and Ed stumbled backwards and tripped over his feet, landing on the floor on his injured side. He hid his pained expression from Roy and rose to his feet. He was breathing hard, not because he was tired, but from anger.

He transmuted his automail into it's usual blade and pointed it at Roy. "Leave me alone unless you want this stabbed through your chest." His threat probably meant nothing to his commanding officer since he knew that Ed didn't have the guts to kill even if his life depended on it.

"Lower your weapon," Roy ordered. He fixed Ed with his dark eyes.

Ed hesitated. Should he lower his weapon. No, it was a trap. When he lowers his weapon Roy was going to attack. He couldn't make up his mind and Roy was getting impatient as he waited for the blond to make a choice.

"Hurry up," Roy ordered.

Ed gave up and transmuted his automail back to normal. He fixed Roy with a cold look. "What do you want?" He asked.

"Why did you run away yesterday and where did you go?" The Colonel demanded.

When Ed didn't answer he walked over to him. "Go to my office. Now."

Ed walked unwillingly to Roy's office. The Colonel followed and shut the door to the small room once the two of them were inside. Ed wished that he wasn't caught by the Colonel and that he could be in the library researching. But of course, it was just his luck to get caught.

The Colonel told Ed to sit down and the blond fell heavily on the black leather couch. Roy however, didn't sit. He stood in front of Ed and looked down at the blond with a questioning look in his dark eyes.

"Where did you go yesterday?" He asked again. Was he ever going to stop asking the same question?

Ed stared hard at the older man. "I'm telling the truth. I don't know where I was."

"Why don't you know where you were?" He asked.

Ed clenched his metal fist. "Some guy knocked me out and brought me somewhere. I don't know where it was though."

"Who knocked you out?"

"He never gave me his name. There wasn't any time to ask him either."

Roy waited patiently for him to continue. Ed sighed and continued telling the Colonel what happened. He might as well just tell him now, he's going to have to tell him eventually.

"The guy was about to tell me what Daniel's plan is but he was killed before he had the chance. I was attacked by Daniel and he eventually escaped. I went to my dorm after to get some sleep."

Roy nodded his head. "So that's why you're hurt."

"I'm not hurt," Ed protested. He looked down to avoid looking at Roy. _Damn it, he noticed._

"My suspicion just became a face." Roy smiled slightly. "If you weren't hurt you wouldn't have looked angered when I asked.

Ed mentally swore and sighed in defeat. "I'm not hurt badly." He met the Colonel's dark eyes. "If I need to remind you, Daniel was the person I fought. And the man told me that Daniel was going to come after me again."

Roy nodded, a kindness the demanding look in his dark eyes "I know. Come on. I'll bring you to my place. It's safer than here." He made his way to the door and looked back when Ed didn't follow. "Aren't you coming?"

"Don't you have work you need to do?" Ed asked, rising to his feet.

Roy smiled. "I think I can risk a day off."

Ed laughed for some reason and followed Roy out of his office and down the halls. The Colonel seemed different in a way Ed couldn't figure out.

* * *

"Get your damn hands off of me!" Ed shouted.

"Sit still, Fullmetal!" Roy shouted back.

At the moment Roy was trying to look at the wound on Ed's side since it had been irritating the blond but Ed was putting up quite a fight. Ed punched empty air wjile the Colonel wrestled with the struggling boy trying to get him to sit on the chair.

"You're evil!" Ed shouted.

"Sit still or I'll call a doctor," Roy threatened.

At the word 'doctor' Ed stopped struggling and was still enough for Roy to roll up his black shirt. The would was freshly closed and dried blood covered the surrounding skin. It didn't appear to be infected.

Ed waited until Roy stopped looking and stood up to face him.

"See, I'm fine," Ed insisted.

"You may be fine but I want to clean it so it doesn't get infected." Roy thought for a moment and mumbled to himself, "I think I have some hydrogen peroxide in the bathroom." He walked off leaving the wide eyed Ed alone in the kitchen.

When he returned Ed was covered in a layer of sweat and looking utterly terrified. Roy looked at him with slight confusion in his dark eyes. He noticed Ed's eyes were fixed solely on the small bottle of clear liquid in his hand and laughed.

"You're seriously scared of this?" He held up the bottle.

"I'm not scared," Ed insisted. His next words were a mutter, "I just don't like that stuff."

Roy laughed again. "I'm putting this on your wound unless you want to go to the doctor to get a shot?"

Ed decided that he would rather his wound sting than get jabbed with a needle so he reluctantly let Roy pour the damn stuff on him.

The stinging wasn't so bad. That was until it sat there for a few moments and Ed had to bite his lip. The funny thing was he didn't react to getting stabbed in the side, but once his wound started to sting he acted like a baby.

Once the stinging was over Ed turned and glared at Roy. "Never again am I going to let you look at my wounds." He pulled his shirt down to hide the deep gash and stood up. He looked around the familiar house and wondered what he was going to do. He was stuck there now and he already had nothing to do.

 _Too bad I've read every book here_ , Ed thought. _Well, every book except for Romance books in the Colonel's room._ He shivered at the thought of them.

"Are you hungry?" Roy asked.

"Depends."

"Depends on what?" Roy asked.

Ed laughed slightly. "It depends. Is it real food or cereal?"

"Uh, real food."

"Then I'm hungry." Ed yawned.

Roy turned to his kitchen and looked through the cupboards. He made something and tossed a sandwich at Ed. "Here, it's not cereal."

Ed ate it quickly and never knew that a sandwich could taste this _bad_. He swallowed the last bite and yawed again. What he didn't know was why he was so tired. He slept last night so he didn't see a reason for him being tired.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Roy suggested helpfully.

Ed nodded. "I have nothing better to do anyway." He then made his way to the room where he had been staying and collapsed onto the bed. He stared up at the ceiling for a bit before his eyes felt heavy and he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Ed woke to a bright light shining in his face. He glared at the window where the sun shone brightly through and into the small room. He groaned and pushed himself up. Why does the sun have to be so damn bright? He was having a good sleep and now he was awake. Ed got out of the bed and walked out of the room. He was wide awake now and doubted that he would get to sleep any time soon.

He walked down the wooden stairs and into the kitchen where he found Roy sitting at the table reading a book. When he saw Ed walk into the room he placed the paperback down.

"You're awake already?" He sounded surprised, as if he thought that Ed was going to sleep longer than he did.

Ed pulled out a chair and sat down heavily on it, his head hanging low. "Yeah, I would still be sleeping if the damn sun wasn't shining in my face."

Roy laughed at the response. "Alphonse called when you were passed out in your room."

Ed looked up suddenly. "He did? What did he say?"

"He said that he wanted to come back to Central and I told him that you would call him back," Roy told him.

"Can I use your phone?"

Roy nodded and pointed behind him. "It's over there."

"Thanks." Ed walked over to the phone and dialed the number to Pinako's house. The phone rang several times before someone picked it up and the familiar metallic voice spoke on the other end of the line.

" _Hello. Ed, is that you?"_

"Hey Al," Ed replied nervously. "The Colonel said that you called earlier?"

" _Yeah, he said that you were sleeping."_

"What did you want?" Ed asked.

" _I was wondering how much longer I have to stay in Resembool. It's not like I don't like it here, but I miss you."_

"I know Al," Ed sighed. "Just a little longer. I'll call you when you can come back. Bye."

With that, Ed hung the phone up and sighed. He'd lost count of the days that he's been trying to catch Daniel and Alphonse had just made him begin to wonder how much longer he would be trying.

"Colonel, there's something I need to tell you," Ed said at last.

"What is it?" Roy asked.

"It's about Daniel." Ed paused for a minute. "Yesterday I found out something about Daniel."

"What did you find?" Roy asked.

Ed took in a shaky breath. "Do you remember how his Philosopher's Stone shattered?"

Roy nodded.

"He-" Ed paused. He tried to steady his uneven breaths. "He made another one."


	16. Chapter 16

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 16**_

"What do you mean?" Roy asked.

"He made another Philosopher's Stone," Ed told him as a feeling of dread washed over him. "He did it in Xing. He turned the Wong Clan into Philosopher's Stones."

"How do you know?" Roy demanded.

"In the papers they said that he Wong Clan was wiped out last night. Every last person gone." Ed found himself staring at the floor. "Daniel. He-" His voice broke and he found himself unable to finish the sentence. Roy placed his hands on his shoulders and made Ed look at him.

"There was nothing you could have done" he told him gently. "It's impossible to save an entire village yourself."

Ed felt his sorrow being replaced with anger. "It may be impossible but I could have at least tried."

"Ed, listen to me." Roy's grip on his shoulders tightened. "You can't go blaming yourself over things that you didn't have had any way to stop."

Ed pushed Roy away and walked out of the room. His thoughts spun through his mind and he recalled every thing he's learned every since Daniel first came after him. He couldn't think straight, his thoughts overpowering.

He walked out the front door and sat down in the yard with his back leaning against the tree that grew there. He pulled his knees up to his chest and gazed at the street. It seemed so peaceful, not one knew the hardships that many other places were going through. One of the Xing clans were wiped out and Ed doubted that most people that lived on this street even knew what Xing was.

It frustrated him how simple most peoples lives were. Never experiencing loss or misfortune. So many things happen that no one thinks twice about. Ed felt a sorrow building up in him as he continued to think about everything.

It was several long minutes before Roy walked out and sat beside him. "Are you okay, Ed?"

Ed looked away and didn't answer. He wanted to be left alone so he could figure out his jumbled thoughts. Maybe even find a way to bring back the people from the Wong clan.

He let his chin rest on his knees as he continued to stare straight ahead at nothing in particular. He slowly released a breath and looked over at Roy.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded. However, no demand remained in his voice broken by an overwhelming feeling of guilt.

"I came to give you company," Roy replied as if it was as simple as that.

Ed looked away from him again and stood up. He walked to the other side of the yard and sat back down in the same position he was under the tree. His gaze stayed locked firmly on the ground as he tried to cope with the thoughts.

He buried his head in his legs, one of them hard and cold. He stayed there for a while, locked up in his own guilt. A cold wind began to blow, hard and quick, and a slight shudder ran through his body. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to wear a sleeveless shirt in the cold. It didn't stop him from getting up, it only made him stay. He didn't deserve the warmth.

"Ed, it's getting late," Roy called from the doorway to the house. "Why don't you come in?"

Ed didn't answer and closed his eyes. It was getting colder as each second went by and each gust of wind sent a shiver through him. He wished that he could forget about what happened to the Wong clan, but he knew better than to think that.

The sun was almost set now and it was only getting colder, still, he knew that if he went inside he would be greeted by a welcoming warmth and he didn't deserve that feeling. He deserved to suffer, he deserved to be cold.

A shiver passed through his body as another long gust of freezing wind brew. He curled tighter as wind sucked the last of his body warmth out of him. He was shivering nonstop now and wished for once that he wasn't so stubborn.

"Ed, com in now," Roy's voice told him from behind. "Even if there was something you could do, getting sick won't help."

Ed mentally agreed with that but still didn't stand. Roy knelt beside him and made Ed look at him. "You can't stay there forever. You have to forget what happened to the Wong clan and move on."

"But they're-"

"They might be gone but there are still 49 other clans in Xing," Roy reminded him. "You can protect those instead. Make up for being unable to do anything to help the Wong Clan"

Ed nodded slightly but still didn't move. He didn't want to move but he knew that Roy wasn't going to leave him alone until he was in the house. Roy grabbed his arms and pulled his to his feet, his impatience was obviously gone.

"Come on, you're going inside," Roy ordered.

Ed began to walk, his legs shaking slightly from the cold. He entered the warm house and Roy dragged him in to the living room. He draped a blanket over Ed's shoulders and pushed him onto the couch.

"Stay there, I'll be back in a minute," he ordered. He walked out of the room and Ed could easily pick out the angered tone to Roy's voice.

He leaned back against the couch and sneezed. _Great, now I'm getting a cold._

Roy returned a minute later with a steaming glass. He handed it to Ed and sat down in a chair across from him. "Drink it."

Ed looked at the contents before taking a small sip. It was very sweet but at the same time it burnt his tongue. He held the glass in his cold hands and wondered how long he was outside.

"Fullmetal, you can't risk your health just because there was something you couldn't stop," Roy told him with a serious look in his eyes.

"I know," Ed said. "I just couldn't wrap my mind around what I found out."

Roy sighed. "You shouldn't let yourself get so shaken up over news like that."

Ed didn't know how to reply. He saw Roy stand up and walk into the kitchen. Ed leaned against the back of the couch and sat there in silence.

* * *

Someone was shaking his shoulder. He opened his heavy eyes and saw Roy standing in front of him with an amused expression on his face.

"You tired?" He asked jokingly.

Ed yawned. "How long-"

"Only a few minutes," Roy interrupted. "Do you want anything to eat?"

Ed shook his head. He yawned again and rose shakily to his feet. "I'm gonna go to bed," he muttered. He yawned again and walked up the stairs. Once he was in his room he collapsed on the bed and was asleep seconds after his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Ed never knew how tired someone could be, and that was coming from the person who always appeared to be sleeping. Ever since he was first taken by Daniel he's felt unusually tired. Ever chance he got he wanted to sleep, he didn't know why either.

That morning Ed got out of the bed and wished he was still sleeping. At the same time he didn't want to sleep the entire day so he forced himself down the stairs. He tripped halfway down and landed on his face at the bottom of the last step.

He stood up and shot the stairs a glare before walking into the kitchen. Roy was sitting at the table drinking his coffee and looked calmly at Ed before taking another sip and placing the cup gently onto the wooden surface of the table.

"You're still tired?" Roy asked as he watched Ed's head dropping down as he tried to drift off to sleep again.

The blond looked up. "Yeah, don't know why I'm so tired though."

"Maybe you should get some more sleep?" Roy suggested helpfully.

Ed nodded and stood up. "I think I'll do that now." He walked back to his room and collapsed back onto the bed. His last thought before he drifted off were, _'I wonder why I'm so tired?'_

* * *

 _The flames ripped through the small village, burning everything that dare get in the fires path. Ed could only stare helplessly as he was powerless to do anything to stop the damage that was falling on the town._

 _Then he saw someone walking away from the flames with a pleased expression on his face. He walked over to a small shape huddled among the ashes of the already burned huts. It was a child, cowering and pleading for survival._

 _The man stopped and whispered one final word before there was a red glow and the child crumpled into a lifeless shape, never to move again._

 _Ed wanted to scream at the man and ask what the hell he was doing but when the man turned and fixed Ed with his icy blue eyes, the blond Alchemist wished that he would wake up._

 _Daniel Tucker walked towards him holding his newly made Philosopher's Stone. "Soon," he whispered when his face was inches from Eds. "Soon you'll be my Chimera once again."_

 _Daniel Tucker turned and walked away, leaving Ed alone to stare at the fire as it swept towards him, threatening to turn him to ashes._

* * *

Ed's eyes shot open and he found himself lying in his bed, not in a burning town. He took in a shaky breath and released it slowly. It was to vivid to be a dream yet there he was, safe in his bed. He sat up and wondered about his dream. He wondered why his dream was like that; then he remembered. The Wong Clan, it was Daniel Tucker creating the Philosopher's Stone in Xing.

Ed slowly got out of the bed and walked over to the window. He gazed down at the street and saw the sun slowly rising over to rooftops of the many houses that lined the quiet street. Ed saw his reflection in the glass and saw his sorrow filled eyes staring back at him, his face broken into a frown.

Ed shook his head roughly from side to side to clear it and walked out of the room. The wooden stairs creaked beneath his weight and he easily heard his uneven footsteps to remind him of his past. One a soft thud, the other a hard bang that echoed around him as he took another step.

He reached the kitchen and found Roy absorbed in a serious conversation with Hawkeye. As he approached them they stopped talking abruptly, their eyes following him as he walked closer.

"Good morning Ed," Hawkeye said politely. The look on her face told Ed that something was wrong, something that they were trying to hide from Ed.

"What are you doing here?" Ed asked, yawning.

"I came to tell the Colonel that he was expected to be at work today," Hawkeye informed.

"You could have just called him," Ed suggested. He leaned against the wall and yawned as he wondered once again why was he so damn tired?

Roy and Hawkeye exchanged looks and a secret message passed between them. Ed tried not to look interested but couldn't help staring at the two of them with great interest in his tired golden eyes.

"You're hiding something," Ed said at last. "What is it?"

"We're not hiding anything," Roy insisted. Ed, however, could hear the nervous tone in his voice. They were hiding something and Ed knew it had something to do with him.

Roy and Hawkeye exchanged another look until Roy released a sigh. "Take a seat Fullmetal." He pointed to an empty chair.

Ed sat down and Roy and Hawkeye sat down on either side of him. The atmosphere in the room was unpleasant and Ed felt Roy and Hawkeye's gazes boring into him. It was uncomfortable at the moment, something happened and Ed knew it wasn't good.

"Fullmetal, you can't blame yourself," Roy began. "Do you promise?"

Ed nodded. Why would he blame himself for something he didn't even know about? Still, whatever he was going to be told wasn't going to be too pleasant.

Roy released a sigh. "Daniel Tucker was spotted in Resembool. He appeared in Pinako's house." He released a shaky breath. "No one was taken this time, neither were they killed. Daniel was later spotted by where your house use to be. Alphonse tried to stop him, but he disappeared soon after that."

Ed stood up suddenly, his chair falling back and hitting the floor with a loud clang. "He took him didn't he? Alphonse was taken by that bastard."

Roy shook his head. "Don't rush into things, Fullmetal. Daniel was seen leaving Resembool alone. Alphonse wasn't with him."

"So where is Al?" Ed demanded as he fixed Roy with golden eyes that were taken over by rage. "Where is my little brother?"

"We're looking for him right now," Roy explained. "Havoc and Breda are currently in Resembool searching for him."

Ed walked out of the room and up the stairs. He changed quickly into his usual black clothes and threw his red coat on before walking back down the stairs. He headed for the door as he pulled on his white gloves. Roy ran over to him and pulled him back once his hand touched the door handle.

Ed whipped around and pushed the Colonel out of the way. "Leave me alone."

"Where are you going?" Roy asked. Ed could tell he was trying really hard to control his anger.

"I'm looking for Al," He growled in reply. "You can't stop me."

Roy didn't reply as Ed pulled away from his weakened grip an stormed out of the house. He walked down the street and once Roy's house was out of sight he slowed his pace and shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

 _That bastard, if he has Al I'm gonna punch his guts out,_ Ed threatened silently to himself. His eyes were fixed in front of him. He pushed himself forward, towards the train station, towards Resembool.

With his mind fixed on destroying Daniel, he reached the train station and got on the first train bound to Resembool. Watching the town roll away and the country replace it, Ed began to plan on what he was going to do if he met Daniel again, how he was going to put an end to him.

* * *

 **A/N...I'd like to give a big thanks to Attackoneverything for reviewing the last chapter. Once I saw it I immediately began to work on this chapter and had it done very quickly :)**


	17. Chapter 17

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 17**_

Resembool was as quiet as ever, the grass green and the sky blue. Ed was often relaxed because the beauty of it all, but not today. His mind was set on finding Al and he had no time to enjoy Resembool. He walked down the familiar path that led to Pinako's house. He had decided to check there first to see if Al was their before looking all around the town for him.

Pinako's house grew steadily closer every step he took. He breathed out a sigh when he was finally standing in front of the door.

He knocked several times before Winry answered it.

"Ed?" Her blue eyes narrowed and her vice sounded deadly. "Did you break your automail again?"

Ed shook his head. "Not today. Is Al here?"

Winry thought for a minute before finally shaking her head. "No, he hasn't been here since this morning."

"Thanks." Ed turned to go but Winry grabbed his hand, pulling him to a stop.

"Al's missing, isn't he?" She asked.

Ed turned away, not wanting to meet Winry's eyes. "I'm going to look for him. See you later." He pulled his arm away and walked away from the familiar house to look for Al.

After several minutes he turned around to see the house was growing smaller. Ed looked back in front of him. His eyes darted back and forth as he searched the town for Al. He saw nothing that would indicate his younger brother was there, that was until he saw the footprint pushed into the muddy ground.

Ed looked carefully at it and saw that it was Al's for sure. "Alphonse!" Ed yelled in hopes of hearing Al's metallic voice answer in reply to his name. Ed waited a moment before continuing down the street.

He searched all of Resembool but saw nothing more of Al. He swore in frustration and pouted his fist once against a sign. A smal sound alerted hi and he looked around with hopeful eyes. The sound never came again and Ed felt all of his hope vanishing.

"Alphonse!" Ed yelled out one final time. Hopefully Al was close enough to hear him.

Eds eyes drifted to the forest that lay across the small river. He walked over to it and crossed over the bridge. It was the only place he hadn't looked. If Al were in there surely Ed would be able to find him.

It was getting dark and the shadows stretched far as the setting sun shone through the trees. Ed and Al use to play in here when they were younger so Ed knew the layout pretty well. He walked cautiously into the darkening forest and paused every few feet and looked around.

He kept walking until the sun was set and a shadowy darkness settled over the forest. The light from the moon lit it up slightly, but the deeper Ed went, the darker it became until he couldn't see his hand in front of his face.

For he first time in his life we wished that he knew how to use Flame Alchemy. A feeling like someone was watching him settled over Ed and the blond began to feel more cautious as he walked further.

 _Maybe I should just stop and turn back. No, Al might be in here, I can't leave now._ Ed couldn't make up his mind and he walked a few more feet until he stumbled over a tree root. He wished it _was_ a tree root.

Ed swore and stood up. He began to walk again when he heard a deep growl from behind him. He turned around but saw nothing in the darkness. He realized at that moment that he didn't step on a tree root.

That was when whatever it was attacked and Ed was forced to the ground by the unbelievable weight of the creature. It dug it's teeth into Ed's arm and he tried punched the creature but his hand only met empty air.

Ed used all his strength and forced the creature off of him. He tried to Transmute but didn't have time before the next attack. It was impossible to fight against an enemy you couldn't see. His next punch finally made contact with the animal and he felt pleased with himself, but only for a second before the animal attacked again. Apparently punching the animal only angered it more than it already was.

With the claws of the unknown animal in his flesh arm, Ed tried to fight against it but he just couldn't find time to Transmute or fight back. That's when the creature went for his neck. Ed blocked the fatal attach but the creature dug it's teeth into his shoulder instead.

Ed struggled against the strong jaws and finally managed to break free before the animal did the final blow.

He ran, ran as fast as he could, his only goal at the moment was to get away from the creature. He had no way to tell how tall the creature was or what it looked like so he risked it and climbed as fast as he could into a tree, using his sense of touch to guide him.

Unlucky for him the creature was able to climb as well and Ed was knocked forcefully out of the tree and he collided with the hard ground below.

* * *

Ed forced his eyes open and saw Winry staring at him. He was confused at first, unable to remember when he got to Winry's place. He sat up and rubbed his soar head. His confused gaze passed from Winry to Pinako and finally to Al, who stood off to the side of the room.

"So you finally decided to wake up," Winry said.

Ed only gave her a look of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"So you don't remember?" Winry asked him.

Ed sat up and felt soar all over. He tried to think back to what happened and finally remembered. The creature suddenly attacking him, climbing the tree, hitting the ground. He couldn't remember anything after that. He scratched his head in confusion.

"Brother are you okay?" Al asked, worry in his metallic voice. "What were you doing in the forest?"

"I was looking for you." Ed turned his gaze to Al. "Where were you anyway?"

"I was following Daniel Tucker," Al admitted. "I actually found out some interesting information about him. He's hiding deep in the forest, that's where I found you. I think you might have been attacked by one of the Chimeras that guard his place."

"That explains it," Ed muttered. "How long have I been here?"

"Since last night," Winry informed him. "It's around noon right now."

Ed groaned. He's been passed out here when he could have been looking for Daniel. He was such a damn fool. He looked up at Al. "Alphonse, where exactly was Daniel?"

Al thought about it for a few moments before shrugging. "He was deep in the forest. I don't remember the exact location."

Ed got out of the bed and headed for he door. Just as he was about to leave the room he was pulled back in by a frustrated Winry.

"Take it easy for a bit," She ordered. "You were pretty hurt when Al dragged you back here."

"I'm fine," Ed insisted. He was getting mildly impatient now, all he wanted was to go after Daniel butt Winry wouldn't let him go. "Listen, it's light now and I'm bringing Al with me. I'll be fine."

Winry's grip on his hand tightened and she looked...scared? "Please come back for dinner."

"Uh, sure," Ed said. He didn't really know how to respond to her plea so he decided that it would be best to just listen to her. Winry released her grip on his arm and Ed walked out of the room, Al close behind.

He threw on his red coat and was out the door, heading for the forest, his hopes set on finding out Daniel's plans.

"Are you sure you're okay, big brother?" Al asked with slight worry in his metallic voice.

"I'm fine," Ed snapped. He didn't mean to sound rude, he was just getting irritated every time someone thought that he was hurt.

As Ed neared the forest his shoulder began to ache and he instinctively brought his hand to rest on the bandaged skin. He wondered why it hurt so bad but remembered that some animal tried to bite his shoulder to pieces. He secretly hoped that he wouldn't come across any more of those creatures in the forest.

Ed remembered Al was there and pulled his hand from his aching shoulder. He didn't want Al to think that he was hurt so he tried his best to hide the fact that his shoulder felt as though it were on fire. They neared the forest and Ed noticed his pace slowing.

"We can go back if you want?" Al suggested. He must have noticed Ed's nervousness as they got closer.

Ed shook his head. "No, it's fine." He quickened his pace so he could hide his nerves from Al. "Come on."

The two brothers then entered the forest and Ed felt as if all the light was being sucked out of the place. The sun was high in the sky but the rays didn't even touch the shadowy ground. Ed forced himself to keep moving, wishing that he had listened to Winry and stayed away from the forest.

Al stayed close to him as the advanced further into the darkness. Suddenly something cold touched him and he jumped, his heart racing. Turned out it was only Al.

"Ed, this way," he whispered. He led Ed through some bushes until a small overgrown house came into view. Ed stopped suddenly. Al shook his shoulder and beckoned him to follow him. Ed followed slowly, he had a bad feeling about that place and he didn't know why.

He and Al crept towards the house and as he got closer he heard voices. He recognized one of them belonging to Daniel Tucker.

"Are you sure he's ready?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

"As soon as I succeed in making him into a complete Chimera the plan will enter it's final stages." That one belonged to Daniel Tucker.

"Then you'd better hurry," the other voice said impatiently.

"I understand. I'll get him in-"

There was a long pause before Ed heard the other voice say something that made his heart almost stop. "We have some unwanted visitors."

Ed tried to get away but was too slow. He heard the door to the small house open and someone walked out to look at him.

"Well well, if it isn't my Chimera," Daniel Tucker said coldly. "Looks like I don't have to find you anymore."

"Al, run!" Ed ran as fast as he could, he heard growling behind him and knew that wasn't good. He ran faster, as fast as he could. But it wasn't good enough. Al was a few feet in front of him and the creatures were gaining on him. It was only a matter of time before they caught up.

The edge of the forest was within sight now. Just a little further. He picked up his speed and broke through the trees and undergrowth and emerged into the bright air outside. He wasn't safe yet. He was out of breath and felt himself slowing, his energy completely drained.

The creature pounced and Ed was knocked to the ground. Needle sharp teeth immediately dug deep into his injured shoulder and Ed tried to push the creature off him. He saw it for the first time and immediately knew that it was a Chimera, without a doubt.

The teeth dug deeper and became more painful the more Ed struggled. Unluckily there were others and in only a few seconds Ed felt like he was being torn apart by countless teeth and claws.

"Big brother!" Al's familiar voice shouted. The claws and teeth that dug into Ed vanished and when the injured blond lifted up his head he saw Al fighting the Chimeras himself. Ed rose to his feet and struggled over to his brother.

One of the Chimeras noticed it's weakened prey and jumped at Ed, knocking him back down to the ground with extreme force.

The Chimera hungrily dug it's teeth into Ed's flesh again and bit as hard as it could. Ed swore that thing _enjoyed_ seeing him in pain.

"Get off my brother!" Al attacked the Chimera that was attacking Ed and wrestled it to the ground. Al must have killed it because it suddenly stopped moving and lay still on the bloody ground. Al immediately ran over to Ed and crouched down beside him.

"Ed," He held Ed close to him, pressing him against his hard, cold armor. "Big brother."

"Let go Al," Ed grunted. He pushed away from Al and rose shakily to his feet. "Come on, Daniel might come here soon." He went to head back to Pinako's, his legs shaky from the pain that spread through his body. Several parts of his clothes were soaked through with his blood and he was beginning to feel light-headed.

"Are you sure you're okay, Ed?" Al asked. He sounded well beyond nervous.

"Hurry up Al," Ed grunted. "Daniel might me near, we have to hurry."

"You're hurt," Al protested.

"It's only a scratch," Ed replied. He knew it was more than just a scratch. Every last scratch or bite on him seared with pain and they continued to steadily bleed. He just wanted to get to Pinako's now. He walked further before he stopped to catch his breath. Pinako's house was in view and the forest was far behind them now.

 _Just a little further_ , Ed thought. _Almost there._ He continued to lose blood room the many deep gashes that covered his body. He felt himself growing weaker, every step he took was a struggle. Al seemed to notice and stopped his from walking.

"Do you wan me to carry you the rest of the way?" He offered.

Ed shook his head. He wasn't going to look any weaker than he already was. Finally he reached Pinako's house. Once he walked into the house Winry immediately wrapped her arms around Ed, pulling him closer to her.

Ed found himself blushing, his face a dark shade of red. He heard Al snicker from where he was standing. Winry pulled away and apparently noticed that Ed was hurt. Her blue eyes widened.

"Ed, you're hurt." She turned the other way and called out for Pinako. The elderly woman walked into the room a moment later and stopped in front of Ed.

"Looks like you've gotten yourself hurt once again," She said, not one bit shocked.

Ed let out a forced laugh in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere in the room. Pinako pointed to a door. "Go, I need to look at your wounds to see if they're bad."

Ed decided that it was best that he didn't argue with Pinako and walked, or limped, through the door and into the room. He sat in a chair and waited for Pinako to come. It was a minute before she came carrying bandages in her arms.

"Take off your shirt," she ordered. Ed could hear irritation in her voice as she carefully looked over his wounds and wrapped bandaged around the deepest gashes.

"You're going to make me run out of bandages," Pinako told him once she was finished. Ed pulled his shirt back on and tried to laugh.

"Sorry, it's not my fault that these things happen to me," Ed replied.

"Be more careful next time," Pinako ordered.

Ed stood up and stretched. It hurt slightly but the pain was already beginning to fade, leaving behind a nothing more than a dull throb.

It was a second later when he heard a loud banging on the front door. Ed walked out of the room in time to see Al open it and Roy burst in. He looked around before walking straight over to Ed with a growing anger in his eyes.

"You can't just leave like that," he growled. "You know Daniel's after you so why do you keep putting yourself in danger?"

"Am I the only one who wants to do something about it?" Ed asked loudly, unable to keep the increasing amount of anger out of his voice. His fists trembled as he continued to glare up at Roy with his golden eyes. Roy looked back before Ed pried his gaze away from him.

"Get away from here," he growled. "You don't belong here. Go back to Central you damn bastard."

"I'm your superior officer, you can't give me orders!" Roy yelled.

"You bastard!" Ed yelled back. He balled up his metal fist and swung, nailing Roy right in the face.

The Colonel looked like he was on the verge of exploding. His eyes narrowed and he grabbed Ed by the collar of his shirt. "You're coming back to Central city with me. That is an order."

Ed gritted his teeth and struggled uselessly as Roy forced him out of the house. He couldn't escape and Roy held his hands behind his back so tightly that couldn't even move them. Ed had no choice but to follow him, but as he walked a plan slowly formed in his mind. His plan was stupid, dangerous, risky, but he was going to do it. He mentally laughed at how idiotic the plan was.

Roy dragged Ed to the train station and sat down on the bench, still holding Ed's hands behind his back.

"You _can_ let go of me, you know that right?" Ed snapped rudely.

Roy sighed. "I'll release you on the train. For now just shut up."

Ed shut his mouth, he had to let the Colonel believe that he was behaving in order for his plan to work. The train arrived about twenty minutes after they got there and Roy forced Ed onto the train. The two of them walked down the isle until Roy pushed Ed down into a seat and sat across from him.

It was perfect. Ed knew that the ride back to Central was quite long and it was the perfect opportunity to do it.

The train started to move, gaining speed every second until they were racing past trees and bushes and flying past hills. Like Roy had said when waiting, he was no longer restraining Ed and he felt his plan drawing closer. He kept his golden gaze fixed solely in the window, counting down when his plan would take action.

 _Three, two, one. Now!_ Ed jumped too his feet and kicked out his automail leg, breaking the glass window. Without hesitation he jumped out of the moving train and tumbled down a hill. The train rushed past him and by the time he collided with the bush the train was out of sight.

Ed rose to his feet and pulled the leaf out of his hair before walking back up the hill. He looked around and spotted the forest that Daniel Tucker was in. He began to walk towards the woods, knowing that if he was caught, there was a good chance that he wouldn't come back.

He pushed the haunting thoughts out of his mind and set off, determination pushing him toward his destiny and possibly his end.

* * *

 **A/N...And that's chapter 17. I'd like to thank Attackoneverything and Guest for reviewing last chapter, after getting the reviews I forced myself to push my homework aside and finish writing and proof reading the chapter. I'll try to update as soon as I can.**


	18. Chapter 18

_I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 18**_

Ed walked until his legs ached and all he wanted to was was lie down and do nothing, but his pride wouldn't let him. He knew that Daniel was up to something bad, something that only Ed cold stop. He knew that he was taking a big risk by coming there but he didn't know what else he could do. He wasn't going to sit and do nothing when he knew what Daniel's intentions were.

The sun was setting at last and Ed's stomach growled hungrily. He decided that he should find something to eat. Fresh meat was out of the picture as a fire would attract unwanted attention. So he settled on some berries he found growing on a bush. He was too hungry to wonder if they were poisonous before he shoved them in his mouth. Hopefully they were edible or Ed was going to have some problems.

He sat down for a minute in the shelter of a bush to rest before continuing. He was exhausted from a day of walking as stealthy as he could through the tangle of undergrowth, hoping that neither Daniel nor one of his Chimeras would find him. He leaned against the bush as he caught his breath.

He listened to the wind that gently rustled the leaves on the trees and the sound of small creatures scurrying across the ground. Crows called from the branches of the trees that dominated the vast forest. Ed felt at ease their, he usually did in the forests that weren't overrun by people. He loved listening to the sound of birds and the wind, smelling the fresh scents of the pine trees.

He looked up at the sky and saw the first of the stars shining in the dark sky. He looked up for a few minutes before rising to his feet and looking out at the dark forest that spread out in front of him. He released a slow, silent breath before pushing himself forward.

Every sound alerted him. The sounds he usually thought were calming made him jump and the wind felt ominous and a shiver ran down his spine every time it blew through the forest. Ed steadied his uneven breaths and forced every thought of what could happen out of his mind.

With safety now far behind him and the path that was laid out before him was dark and full of unknown dangers that possibly death. Deep down he began to regret every coming out into this forest, but a part of him kept saying that he was the only one who could prevent the disaster that was coming. He had the weight of all of Central on his shoulders, it was _his_ problem and _he_ was going to be the one to solve it.

He pushed further, the forest growing darker and darker the further he walked. He felt fatigue catching up with him but he forced himself to ignore the exhaustion that had settled over his soar body. He took one more step before leaning against a tree, breathing hard and wishing that he could hurry up and find the place Daniel was staying.

Finally he found it. In the distance, just visible among the darkness, a house stood there. The windows were dark and there was a strange atmosphere surrounding the house, somewhat sinister and an ominous feeling came over Ed as he took a weary step forward.

A fight was raging on inside him. He was being told not to go but curiosity and his stubbornness pushed him forward. His legs were screaming at him to stop, screaming that it wasn't a good idea, but he just couldn't back down when his goal was right in front of him.

He walked closer and closer, a strong feeling of fear engulfing him. He couldn't back down now, he was right there so why was did he think it was a bad idea? He reached the house and heard talking, two voices that appeared to be in the middle of a serious conversation. Ed 's curiosity got the better of him and he crouched down and listened as hard as he could to pick up on the conversation that he knew was important.

"How could you let him get away?" Someone demanded. There was a great amount of anger on the surface of his voice that was begging to be let out and Ed could tell he was having a difficult time of holding it in.

"I'm sorry Clyde," another voice replied. Ed recognized it as Daniel Tuckers'. However, there was a level of fear that made his voice shake as he talked to the other man. The other man, Clyde, obviously had power over Daniel.

"That's no excuse," Clyde snapped. His anger was increasing and it as only a matter of time before he released it.

"I promise you that our plan will-"

"How can you be sure?" Clyde growled. His anger was on the edge of spilling over the cup that was overfilled with it. "You've already let him escape many times. How can I be sure you'll be able to complete the plan?"

"The plan will be complete," Daniel promised a little nervously as if he too, didn't believe he would succeed. "Once I get my Chimera back the plan will go on."

"Then you'd better hurry and find him," Clyde ordered. "If you fail me again I won't hesitate to take your life."

"You don't have to worry sir." Daniel sounded scared, very scared. Clyde was going to kill him if he failed. That doesn't make any sense. And who is that Clyde?

Questions without answers whirred through Ed's mind as he tried to think of an answer himself. Nothing came to him and when he heard chairs scraping against wood he felt his hear leap into his throat.

Ed dashed the way he had come and dived head first into a thorn bush. He panicked and the thorn bush was the first thing he saw so that's what he jumped into. Too bad he didn't notice the bush beside him before he decided to dive into the thorn bush. Thorns tugged at his clothes and cut his skin and he froze when yellow light seeped into the darkness.

At the door Daniel stood there, his gaze sweeping the dark forest outside of his house. In a few moments he shrugged and shut the door with a soft click. Ed waited a few moments before releasing a sigh and crawling painfully out from between the relentless thorns.

Once he was free he took off at a run but soon heard a growl behind him. He felt a sinking feeling in his gut and his fears became reality when he saw a Chimera in the darkness. He tried to escape but the beast attacked, knocking him to the ground and digging his teeth into his flesh leg.

Ed struggled as the Chimera began to drag him along the forest floor. He kicked the Chimera several times with his automail leg but each time the blow didn't even faze it, only causing the Chimera to bit down harder and ultimately causing Ed more pain.

He was dragged painfully across the rough forest floor. The razor sharp stones that littered the ground scraped against his back as he was pulled over top of them. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Daniel's house loom into view. The Chimera dragged him right up to the door and scratched it until it was opened.

Yellow light spilled into the darkness, partially blinding Ed as Daniel gazed curiously down at him.

"So you _were_ spying on us." He scratched the chimera behind it's disfigured ear the same way you would a cat or dog and yanked Ed to him feet. The blond was pushed into the house and his hands were held behind his back by Daniel as if to prevent him from using Alchemy and escaping.

"Look what I found on my doorstep," he announced, showing Ed off to another man in the house.

Ed figured the other man to be Clyde. The longer Ed looked at him the more he began to wonder how Clyde could boss around Daniel. Clyde sounded sinister when Ed was eavesdropping but he looked totally different than Ed pictured.

Clyde was somewhat scrawny with black hair and glasses that rested on his face in front of his yellow eyes. He wore a fancy suite and Ed could have easily mistaken him for a business man or lawyer. Clyde looked at him before nodding.

"We'll go back to Central tomorrow to finish the experiment," Clyde announced finally. "But for now I want him restrained so he can't go anywhere."

Daniel grinned wickedly down at him before yanking him off somewhere and binding his hands behind his back. He also tied his legs together and blindfolded him so Ed could neither run nor see anything. The blond was tossed roughly to the floor and felt something wrap tightly around his waist. It felt like a boa constrictor was squeezing all the breath out of him.

"There, that'll keep him in one place," Daniel stated proudly. Ed smelled Daniel's disgusting breath appear in front of him. Ed held his breath as he spoke. "Don't even think about going anywhere, unless you want to see that Wendy girls' house get burned down?"

Ed gritted his teeth. His anger was boiling now, uncontrollable rage begging to be set free. Daniel should be glad that Ed couldn't move. If he could, the damn bastard should expect a metal fist to the face.

"You damn bastard," Ed growled. He couldn't stop himself and the next few words out of his mouth offended Daniel greatly. "You're just like your bastard of a son. The same attitude and the same desire to force people out of their true forms and mix them with animals. I'm guessing bastards run in your family."

Something hard nailed him in the gut with extreme force and all of the breath was driven from his lungs. He doubled over as much as he could, coughing as he tried to breath. Daniel's voice sounded dangerously close to Ed. His voice holding barley controlled emotions of anger and rage.

"Listen here brat. Don't say anything like that to me again or you should expect more pain," he growled dangerously. Ed was punched in his stomach again and then Daniel left, leaving him alone as he struggled to take in ragged breaths.

* * *

Something prodded him in the side and he looked up, forgetting all about the blindfold that covered his eyes until he opened them and every memory of what happened came rushing back to him all at once. He must have fallen asleep at some point but he didn't remember ever falling asleep.

The tightness around his waist vanished and he was finally able to take in a proper breath for the first time since last night. He was yanked to his feet and was forced somewhere by Daniel and Clyde, at least he figured it to be them. He was pulled somewhere but it was impossible to see through the blindfold that was wrapped tightly around his eyes.

He was thrown somewhere and the tightness returned around his stomach. He heard vibrating and figured that he was in a car. He twisted around but couldn't seem to move. Something pressed against him on all sides and if he tried to struggle whatever was tied around his waist tightened and wouldn't loosen so he decided that if he wanted to breathe he should stay still.

They probably planned this, tying so it was impossible to move unless he wanted to be unable to breathe. He was forced to stay still for the entire damn ride. His stomach growled and he remembered that he hadn't eaten for roughly two days except for a handful of berries that he found on some bush the day previous.

Maybe he should have gone with Roy and stayed in the train instead on jumping out. He would be safer than he was here with these people he didn't even know. He felt a feeling of great depression settle over him as he knew that because he wanted to save Central and now it looked like he was going to destroy it by going there. He closed his eyes even though he could see only darkness even if they were opened and tried to think of a way to escape.

A plan was slowly beginning to form when the car stopped and he knew he was going to have to put the dangerously engineered plan into action.

He was yanked out of the car with such force that even startled him. He was dragged forward and he stayed limp. Once they lost their grip on him he fell to the ground limply.

"You damn brat." He was kicked in the ribs several times and he heard a crack and when and exploded in his chest he knew it was broken. Another kick to his gut caused him to cough. Ed just had to put up with it if his plan were to work. Once more blow to his gut before he was forced to his feet. He forced himself to stay limp and it was harder than he thought. He couldn't show any reaction when they hurt him.

 _Hurry up and work_ , Ed begged silently. He remembered them saying that they were going to Central City and there was nowhere in that town where a person wasn't. It was the most populated city in Amestris so his plan had to work.

He was then dragged for several minutes before he heard the sound of a door closing and he was thrown onto the ground. He knew deep down inside that his risky plan had failed and that he was going to be turned back into a Chimera. He braced himself for the pain he knew was coming and soon saw the familiar purple glow even through the blindfold that covered his eyes.

The pain started out small but he knew it was only going to grow more painful because they had to merge him with the soul of a cat before they can start the real experiment. The pain grew steadily faster and he could only cower on the floor as he felt like his entire body was being ripped apart by savage beasts hungry for blood.

A scream escaped his lips and sweat rolled down his face. He squeezed his eyes tight as the pain became more than unbearable. His body was stiff for moment before he fell limp as all the strength was sucked out of his broken body.

The pain only increased buy large amounts before the blinding purple glow died down and he lay there gasping for air. Pain still lingered in his body, sharp and horrible, agonizing and unbearable. The pain was too much, he couldn't take it anymore. However, it seemed that Daniel didn't want to stop for he started step two of the agonizing Chimera transformation.

The pain only increased an he tried to cling to consciousness. A part of him kept telling him that if he gave up the pain would go away but something kept his awake. He forced himself to stay conscious no matter how much pain and pressure he was put under. He's experienced this pain before and he could do it again. He was going to stay strong and survive, he wasn't going to collapse and fail. That was a promise he was going to keep.

* * *

"Looks like this one's going to survive after all." Something prodded Ed in the side and he winced as pain flared up again. A slight whimper escaped his lips as he lay there. It hurt so much, he couldn't stand it anymore, it was to much, he'd rather be dead then suffer anymore.

"Get up." He was jabbed in the side again and he whimpered again. He hated acting weak but he hurt too much at the moment to care. The pain flared every time he breathed, every time he moved, every time he did anything it hurt.

His breathing was weak and he felt his pulse getting weaker and weaker with every passing second. He was fading rapidly, he couldn't manage to take in enough breath. He knew he was dying and that was that. A tear fell down his face when he thought that he would never be able to finish his promise before his pulse grew weaker yet and he fell into the void of darkness that he may never come back out of.

* * *

 **AN...So here's the challenge. If you think you know why I named Daniel's partner Clyde, write a review saying who you think he's named after. I will mention the winners in the authors note next chapter. I'll give you a few hints: He's named after an anime character, he has a similar appearance, and the names are similar. Good luck and I hope to see if any of you guess correctly.**

 **I'd also like to give a quick thanks to Attackoneverything and Alexkcat for reviewing last chapter.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N...OK, the results for who Clyde was named after are in. And I sadly announce that no one guessed correctly. Clyde was based on Claude from the anime Black Butler.**

 **Now, onto the final installment of The Golden Chimera. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 _I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist_

 _ **Chapter 19**_

Was he dead? It certainty didn't feel like it. He didn't think that people felt pain in death but his body was burning in pain, burning like he was in the middle of a fire. He tried to move and found that he could. However, he decided to stay still because the fiery pain increased drastically with every movement.

"Edward, are you awake?" A voice whispered gently from somewhere. It sounded familiar but Ed couldn't quite figure out who it belonged to. He decided that he couldn't take it anymore and forced open his bleary eyes to find himself staring up at a dark ceiling.

Maybe he was alive after all? He twisted his head around to search for the owner of the voice and found Roy Mustang sitting off to his left with a relived look on his face when he saw that Ed was awake.

"Colonel, what's going on?" Where am I?" Ed asked with a scratchy voice.

"You're at my place." Roy placed his hand on Ed's forehead. "And your fever's worse."

Fever? Well, that probably explained why his stomach felt like it was twisted in two. However, it didn't explain why he was at Roy's place.

"What's going on?" Ed asked again, louder to make sure Roy heard him. He waited quietly for a reply until Roy finally let out a small sigh.

"I don't even know what's going on," he admitted. "All I know is that you showed up on my doorstep half dead three days ago."

"I've been here for three days?" Ed asked, a little disbelieving. How could he have been here for three days without knowing? If he was unconsciousness the entire time it would make sense, but then he wondered why he was unconscious. Then he remembered and shame settled over him.

"You were in pretty bad condition when I found you. I would have taken you to the hospital but-" his voice faltered and he looked uneasy.

Ed looked at him with curious shining in his golden eyes. "What is it? Why couldn't you bring me to the hospital?"

"You really want to see?" Roy asked When Ed nodded he pulled out a mirror and pointed it at Ed. The mirror revealed that he was a complete Chimera with two cat ears perched on his head, whiskers, fangs, and when Ed reached down he felt a tail.

He let out a sigh. _So they completed their plan and it's all because of my stupid idiotic idea.._ He sat up, he wasn't going to sit there and do nothing. He was the reason they succeeded and he was going to end it. He wasn't going to waste his life lying in a bed all day.

He slowly got out of the bed and stood up straight. The floor was cold beneath his bare feet and a slight shiver ran down his spine. His legs trembled as he tried to hold himself up. He couldn't figure out why he felt so damn weak. It wasn't fair that every horrible thing had to happen to him all the time.

He took a step forward, and another, and another. He reached the door and noticed that Roy was standing nervously beside him, his eyes giving away his fear for him.

"Are you sure you should be walking around this much? Dr. Knox sad that you sh-"

"I not so weak that I have to lie in bed all day," Ed snarled. "Daniel's plan is going to happen and it's going to be because of what I did. I'm not sitting around and doing nothing when I can be out there trying to correct my mistakes."

Roy looked taken aback by the sudden change in Ed's personality. The blond walked out of the room and down the stairs with irritation creeping through his body. He grabbed his red coat and walked out the door and into the street. He pulled his hat over his head to cover his cat ears and walked quickly down the street, ignoring his protesting muscles as they begged to rest.

He laughed inwardly and picked up his pace. He knew what he had to do. He was going to find Daniel and put an end to his life once and for all. No one else was going to suffer because of him. Philosopher's Stone or not, Ed knew that he was stronger than him.

He's the youngest State Alchemist after all. His golden eyes swept his surroundings and he picked up a familiar scent that was carried on the breeze. An advantage to being part cat, he had a pretty good sense of smell. He followed Daniel's scent through the streets of Central before his stomach started to growl and he realized how hungry he was.

He reached his hand into his pocket and surprisingly found money. He decided to buy some food before the fight he knew was going to come.

* * *

He shoved the last of the sandwich into his mouth and set off on his way. Now full both of food and water he felt strength returning to his body. He caught the familiar scent of Daniel again and followed it quickly before it disappeared. Finally he arrived at a large warehouse like building and he took a hesitant step inside, knowing that there was no turning back once he was inside.

The interior was dark and stunk with the distinct scent of mold. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and walked further into the forbidding building, knowing that everything could go terribly wrong from that moment and there would be no turning back from the path he's chosen.

"Well well, look like the Fullmetal Alchemist's decided to join us once again." Ed heard applause as Daniel Tucker walked out form the darkest shadows of the room. There was a sinister look on his face that sent a slight chill down Ed's spine.

Everything told him to run, to get away from there, but once again his pride wouldn't let him. He stood tall and faced Daniel with determination shining in his bright golden eyes that were dominated by a forever burning fire.

"Daniel Tucker, you have inflicted pain upon so many people in your miserable life," Ed announced with more authority than any person he knew. He clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes so they were fixed solely on Daniel. "Now it's time for you to experience true pain. With my fists I'll teach you a lesson that you should have had a long time ago."

Daniel let out a long laugh. "I'd like to see you try. Now, Fullmetal Alchemist, prepare to perish!"

"Like I'd be beaten by the likes of you!" Ed yelled.

Daniel made the first move, sending a blast of freezing ice that shot with blinding speed at Ed. The blond easily dodged and Transmuted his automail into a blade. He went charging at Daniel with lightning speed and thrust out his arm. The blade missed Daniel by no more than an inch and Ed mentally swore as he had to back up to dodge another attack that came dangerously close to hitting him.

The warehouse was big enough to move around. There was only a single room and it was pretty big. The floor was made out of cement so Ed had a generous supply of stone to work with. He Transmuted a spear and went charging at Daniel again before he had another chance to attack.

Daniel might be a hard opponent but he was nothing compared to his teacher Izumi Curtis. Ed laughed at how much of an amateur Daniel was. His attacks so predictable, his movements slow, his aim off. As for Ed, his attacks were precise, his movements a mystery, and his attacks full of force and power.

He fought with all strength, carefully engineering a plan as he fought. He had the upper hand in that battle, not Daniel, _him._ Ed attacked again and each swing grazed Daniel and every time Daniel made a move Ed dodged it with ease as if fighting a toddler.

He usually didn't let his emotions take over but this time he did. Every strike was to give Daniel a piece of the pain he's had to experience every time he did an experiment to him. His anger drove him forward, controlled the strength of each skilled movement.

His energy was still full and he felt strength flooding him every minute that passed in the fight. Daniel was getting exhausted by the looks of it but the Glacier Alchemist didn't appear to be giving up just yet. His attacks becoming more forceful as he realized that he was losing against the young boy.

The ice shot forward and Ed was hit. He was thrown against a wall and crumpled to the ground. He was hit in the leg and stood up slowly, relishing the look he saw on Daniel's face. Shock and disbelief. Ed smirked and rolled up his pant leg to reveal his automail leg.

Daniel looked like he was about to snap as he shot out uncountable blasts of ice, his attacks becoming more precise and dangerous. Ed had to work harder and harder to keep the upper hand in the dangerous battle.

Daniel was becoming reckless and Ed found an opening. He took a big risk and jumped straight at Daniel, narrowly avoiding a deadly ice attack, shoving his blade straight through Daniel's abdomen. The old man's eyes widened and he fell backwards and hit the ground limply, a patch of crimson blooming in the front of his shirt, pooling around on the ground. Ed, realizing what he's done, collapsed to his knees as shame and guilt washed over him, suffocating him with tangled emotions.

He killed him. He was a coldblooded murder. He couldn't believe what he'd done. He always knew that he would be forced to taking someones life but he never expected that he'd do it so soon. He could have found a way to settle the fight without taking anyone's life, but he killed him

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Ed apologized as a tear fell down his face and onto Daniel. "I-I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," a voice rasped.

Ed looked down in surprise and when he saw Daniel staring up at him he felt hope spring to life inside him. "D-Daniel, you're alive?"

Daniel nodded slightly. "Thank you. I have suffered ever since I was a child. Thank you for taking away all that pain," he rasped weakly, his lips barley moving as he talked.

Ed saw the age appearing on his face and believed for the first time how old Daniel really was. Wrinkles lined his face and his hair a pale shade of gray mixed with white. He really was 103 old.

Daniel slowly reached up his shaking hand and grabbed Ed's flesh one. "I never meant you any harm. Now let this old man rest in peace so I can finally be with the ones I love. I'll see you again one day, my lovely Chimera." Daniel's hand then went slack in Ed's and the blond felt tears welling up in his eyes.

He blinked them away but a few still managed to escape and run down his face. He held Daniel's hand in his, not caring about everything that he had done to him in the past. He was a human being and Ed killed him.

Footsteps sounded behind him and Clyde appeared beside Daniel. He looked down at the fallen man with distaste in his yellow eyes. He prodded the still body with his foot. "Such a shame. And I thought that he actually had what it took to end your life. Such a pity." He kicked Daniels lifeless body and began to walk away calmly as if nothing happened.

Ed felt anger welling up inside of him at the sight of how terribly Clyde treated Daniel despite how hard he worked to serve him. It was unforgivable. Ed clenched his fists and rose to his feet, his golden bangs covering his face.

"How can you be so horrible?" He asked in a voice trembling not from sadness but from an uncontrollable rage that was steadily building up inside him. "Daniel served you until the moment he died and you treat him like _that_? All this time I've blamed Daniel for everything that's happened since I met him. But you were the mastermind behind it all. You monster, you're not even human!"

Clyde looked up with a bored look in his eyes. "What are you getting at?"

Ed looked up and directed his full attention to Clyde. His eyes glowing with anger and his fists trembling in rage. "I killed once and I can do it again. I'm going to end your life once and for all! And that is a promise I'm keeping!"

Clyde pushed his glasses up further and shot Ed a challenging look. "As you wish. But I'm going to let you know ahead of time that I'm not as weak as Daniel Tucker. Prepare Fullmetal Alchemist, for the hardest fight you have ever experienced!"

Ed was ready for everything he expected to happen. He's been in many fights before and he was strong enough. He was going to survive this one and Clyde was going to bow down to him before Ed takes his life.

He knew he was able to and he wasn't going to hesitate. Daniel was dead because of him and he was going to do the same to Clyde. He released the breath he was holding and waited for Clyde to make the first move. He had to find out his fighting strategy before attacking.

Clyde stood there as well as if he was waiting for Ed to make the first move. Finally Clyde attacked. The man was lightning fast and Ed barley managed to dodge the attack. Clyde stopped moving and stood about ten feet from Ed with a thin sword in his outstretched hand.

Ed was still stunned by the indescribable speed Clyde had. He was too fast for comfort. Ed knew he had to end the fight quick, knowing that the enemy's strength most likely surpassed his. Ed couldn't find an opening to strike.

Clyde seemed to notice Ed's hesitation and a slight smile appeared on his face. "Are you scared to fight me. Guess you are a shrimp like they say."

Ed did react to being called small. He wanted to beat the man into a pulp but he remembered something Roy once told him during a fight. _'If your opponent if of choleric temper seek to irritate, and never fall for an enemy's taunts.'_

Ed stayed where he was his gaze fixed solely on Clyde. The two stared at each other before Clyde attacked. His speed was the same as before but Ed dodged it and stuck. His blade narrowly missed a fatal blow to Clyde and Ed was getting the hand of fighting him. His speed might may be useful but Ed found a way to counter it.

He went charging at Clyde with his eyes focused on which way his enemy was going to run. Right before he made the blow, Clyde he dodged by running left but Ed was ready. He swung out his blade and grazed the older man as he tried to make an escape.

Clyde looked thoroughly shocked as Ed smirked. He thought he had got Clyde but the mans eyes narrowed and he attacked back harder than before. Each attack direct and accurate, hard to pinpoint exactly. Ed had a hard time dodging and he got grazed by the razor sharp blade many times. Blood ran down a cut on his forehead and he wiped it away with the back of his left hand.

Exhaustion was creeping into him. This was his second fight without a break and he knew that he wasn't going to last as long as he did the previous one. The only thing he could do was dodge the relentless attacks that were repeatedly thrown his way.

He couldn't find an opening to strike. Ed's movements were slowing down and he founded it harder and harder to dodge each attack. He thought it was the end until he heard a snap and the air in front of him exploded.

He knew what that meant. He looked behind him and saw Roy Mustang. Standing about twenty feet from him with a small smile on his face.

"I thought you would appreciate a bit of help," he said in his usual tone.

Ed felt a huge weight vanish from his shoulders and he turned back to Clyde with a whole new found determination shining in his golden eyes.

"Looks like you're outnumbered Clyde," he pointed out. "I think I know where this fight's going to go now."

Clyde's temporary state of shock immediately vanished and was replaced with a murderous look. Both Ed and Roy charged forward. Exploding air, metal clanging against metal. The fight was finally going somewhere and Ed knew that it was now in his favor.

Clyde wasn't backing down yet. His attacks became more direct and forceful. Ed's were too, knowing that he had the hero of Ishval on his side. Ed felt his exhaustion fading every time his blade made connection with Clyde.

Ed dedicated this battle to Daniel, the man who had fallen because of him. He stained his hands red when killing him and he knew he was going to do the same to Clyde in the final battle that he was having right now.

Clyde attacked but Ed could see his movements getting slower, his speed depleting. Ed knew he only had to dodge for a few more minuted before he could make the final blow, the blow that would end Clyde's life and all the pain he inflicted upon him.

Ed had kept up his strength, saving it for this very moment. The air exploded beside Clyde and the man was knocked off his feet. Ed knew he had to strike now. He ran forward and pulled his blade high and with a final battle cry shoved his blade through Clyde's stomach and ending his life.

Ed pried his eyes away from Clyde, away from the two deaths that happened because of him. He took the lives of two people that day and he felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt and sorrow settle over him. He was such a fool. His automail hand was stained red with the blood of the two people he's killed. He was an idiot, he was a murder.

Roy placed his hands on his shoulders and Ed looked up sadly into his dark eyes that were dominated only by kindness. "Come on, lets go back to HQ."

Ed shook his head. "I-I'm a murder. I killed him."

"Listen to me Ed," Roy said gently. "You're not a murder. You killed him to defend yourself, that's not what a murderer does."

"Y-yeah, I guess you're right." Ed's gaze swept back to where Daniel Tucker lay and then turned back to look at Roy. "Colonel. I want to give Daniel a proper funeral."

Roy nodded at the unusual request from Ed. "I understand. I'll arrange it when we get back to HQ."

"Thanks." Ed followed Roy out of the building and onto the streets of Central. The streets were lively with people happily chatting without any knowledge of what had happened in the warehouse. As Ed walked he got lost in his thoughts.

 _It's been strange lately hasn't it? I never expected to be kidnapped and turned into a Chimera, and that happened more than once. I'm not a murderer, I was avenging Daniel Tucker's death. Funny that I was avenging his death despite everything he's done to be. I wonder what's going to happen to me next?_

Ed stopped walked and turned to face the setting sun that was slowly sinking behind Central City. A wind ruffled his hair as his golden gaze stayed fixed solely to the spot where the sun was setting.

 _I guess anything can happen. I_ am _the Fullmetal Alchemist after all._

And with that Ed turned and followed Roy towards Central HQ, and hopefully towards a bright future as well.

 _ **End**_

* * *

 **A/N...And that's it. I was pretty satisfied with the ending. The first ending was better written but my computer died and all of my unsaved work was erased. I had to write it all over again.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed reading my story, I appreciated every single review I got and every person who decided to fav/follow it. Now, I've been asked this question many times but I never got around to answering it. Why was Ed so tired? Well, that's because he's part cat and cats spend a lot of time sleeping (all my cat does is sleep and eat).**

 **And I finally reached my 50,000 word goal. My friend told me to write a 50,000 word story so I did, that's why there are 19 chapters in this story and not a one-shot like it was originally going to be.**


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